New Hampshire gay marriage was made legal in 2010, based on legislation that was passed by House vote in 2009. New Hampshire had allowed civil unions since 2004, and the 2010 law established by the state would be automatically convert these to marriage in 2011 unless annulled by the partners prior that date.
House Bill 436 was the piece of legislation that ultimately allowed same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. The bill was initially introduced to the House Judiciary Committee, where voting on it was tied at 10-10. The committee then elected to send the bill to the House floor for general voting, where it was defeated by a slim margin of 182-183. A motion to reconsider the vote was filed, and on the second vote the measure passed 186-179.
Governor John Lynch, though personally opposed to the bill, promised to sign it into law as long as it was rewritten to provide greater protections for churches that did not want to officiate over a same-sex wedding. In May, 2010, the New Hampshire House and Senate negotiated a compromise and Lynch agreed to sign the bill into law.
Prior to legalizing same-sex marriage, New Hamshire had broad civil union laws that afforded homosexual couples many of the same protections as marriage. However, these unions were not always recognized if the couple moved out of state and could provide many legal challenges outside of New Hampshire. The 2010 law automatically converted all existing civil unions to marriage.
Public opinion polls have found that most voters are in favor of New Hampshire gay marriage. In a 2009 survey, 55 percent of citizens were in favor of legalizing gay marriage, but 62 percent were opposed to efforts to repeal the House Bill 436.
In 2009, New Hampshire became the fifth state to pass legislation in support of marriage equality. It joins 18 other states in the US that allow same-sex couples to marry.
