N.H. gay marriage rights up for vote in 2012

In fewer than two weeks, the New Hampshire primary season will have come to a close, and the presidential candidates will have fled the state like migrating birds. But many eyes around the country will remain focused on the Granite State as legislators prepare to take up one of the most controversial votes in recent history.

No date has yet been scheduled for the vote on legislation to repeal New Hampshire's same-sex marriage law, but the state House of Representatives will likely take up the matter in mid-January, soon after the Jan. 10 primary, lawmakers said last week.

The gay marriage issue has been a headlining one in New Hampshire since it was first proposed last year. Presidential hopefuls have weighed in on the matter throughout the campaign season, and national interest groups like Freedom to Marry and the National Organization for Marriage have poured money and resources into their respective sides.

If the state Legislature passes the repeal measure, it will be the first in United States history to recant same-sex marriage rights.

"This vote has national ramifications. If we're able to restore traditional marriage here, it will be the only time anywhere ever that a legislature has reversed its position," said state Rep. David Bates, a Windham Republican and primary sponsor of the repeal bill.

"The rest of the country is watching," countered Ray Buckley, chairman of the state Democratic Primary, which opposes the bill. "What I feel sorry for is the nearly 2,000 couples that have married here. . . . These are families sitting on the edge of their chairs wondering, 'Are we going to be a family next year?' "

According to Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, a same-sex marriage advocacy group in Boston, more than 1,800 same-sex couples have married in New Hampshire since legislators enacted the law in 2009. 

Should the repeal bill pass, those couples would remain married in the eyes of the law, and they would retain their legal rights and benefits, according to Bates, the bill sponsor.

Moving forward, same-sex couples looking to become legally joined would be restricted to civil unions, similar to those honored in other states and those enacted here prior to the gay marriage law.

Some opponents of the repeal bill have raised questions about the legal rights afforded couples under civil unions. The repeal legislation doesn't specifically outline employment benefits and adoption rights, among other matters in the bill text. But Bates maintains that the civil union provisions would provide for the same legal rights as the marriage law. 

"This isn't taking rights away from anybody," he said. "It's trying to draw a bright line and make a distinction between (marriage and civil unions)."

Still, for many state residents, the issue is about maintaining equality and respect for all the state's citizens.

Repealing the law would be a step backwards in the fight for human rights, advocates say.

"We don't take away people's rights in this state," said Buckley, who is gay. "That's not something we do."