2011-2012
On October 25, 2011, the House Judiciary Committee voted 11-6 to support a bill repealing same-sex marriage and establishing civil unions far more limited than the state's earlier civil unions. The new civil unions would not be covered by the state's anti-discrimination laws and no one would be required to recognize them as the equivalent of opposite-sex marriages. The bill's effect on same-sex marriages already performed in the state were disputed. Rep. David Bates, the principal sponsor of the legislation, said the bill would represent the first legislative repeal of same-sex marriage. Governor John Lynch announced his intention of vetoing any legislative attempt to repeal the state's same-sex marriage statute. On March 21, 2012, the House voted 211-116 to kill the bill. The House also defeated by a vote of 188-162 an attempt to place a non-binding referendum on the legislation on the November ballot, with 96 of the chamber's 293 Republicans voting against it.
Read more about this topic: Same-sex Marriage In New Hampshire, Marriage, Repeal Efforts