Recognized Same-sex marriage has been legal in New Hampshire since January 1, 2010, based on legislation signed into law by Governor John Lynch on June 3, 2009.
New Hampshire was the fourth state in New England and the fifth in the country, after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont, to legalize same-sex marriage.
By a 7–4 vote, it recommended modifying the Constitution of New Hampshire to restrict marriage to heterosexual unions, reinforcing the state's statutory definition of marriage to prevent the judiciary from finding a constitutional requirement that same-sex couples be allowed to wed. Their report opposed as well the idea of civil unions like those recognized in Vermont in July 2000.
The chairman, Tony Soltani, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, said; "If we redefined marriage, we'd be tarred and feathered, but if we give them some rights, it will be accepted."
[3] In early 2007, the General Court briefly considered a bill authorizing same-sex marriage until Democratic leaders assigned it to a study committee.
[5][6][7] Lynch took no public position until April 19, when he said that he would sign legislation establishing civil unions for same-sex couples because he believed "it is a matter of conscience, fairness and preventing discrimination.
"[4][8] On April 26, 2007, the New Hampshire Senate approved the civil union bill 14–10 on a party line vote.
The event drew one protester who "quietly handed out a statement calling all sex outside of heterosexual marriage a sin.
[35] On May 20, 2009, the Senate passed the changes 14–10 along party lines, but the House unexpectedly failed to agree later in the day by a vote of 188–186.
[38] The revised legislation was approved 14–10 by the Senate and 198–176 by the House on June 3 and signed by Governor Lynch shortly thereafter.
[39][40][41] Lynch was the second governor in the United States to sign a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, the first being John Baldacci of Maine.
The new civil unions would not be covered by the state's anti-discrimination law and no one would be required to recognize them as the equivalent of opposite-sex marriages.
[50] In January 2012, Representative David Bates, the principal sponsor of the legislation,[51] said the bill would be the first legislative repeal of same-sex marriage in the U.S.,[52] but Governor John Lynch announced he would veto any repeal of the state's same-sex marriage statute.
The House defeated a series of attempts to modify the bill to attract moderate support by providing same-sex couples with an alternative to marriage.
[59] On July 10, 2014, Governor Hassan signed legislation designed to clarify the status of same-sex marriages.
A University of California, Los Angeles study from March 2009 estimated the impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry on New Hampshire's state budget.
The study concluded that allowing same-sex couples to marry, as opposed to the old civil union scheme, would result in a net gain of approximately $500,000 each year for the state.
[72] However, a later survey in February 2005 by Research 2000 for the Concord Monitor showed that 51% of likely voters in the state supported such a federal constitutional amendment.
[73][74] A poll conducted between January 30 and February 3, 2011 by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research showed that 63% of residents opposed the bill repealing same-sex marriage, while 29% supported it.
[75][76] Another University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll, conducted between September 26 and October 2, 2011, showed that 62% of state residents were against repealing same-sex marriage, while 27% were in favor.