New Hampshire To Repeal Gay Marriage Act?

Just over a year ago, New Hampshire governor John Lynch signed into law an act which allowed gay marriage. Yesterday, lawmakers in the Republican-dominated legislature got one step closer to repealing that act, as the state House Judiciary Committee moved forward on a bill that would eliminate gay marriages, replacing them with a foggy version of civil unions (which New Hampshire had allowed since 2007, prior to the gay marriage act):

The bill would not enact the same civil unions law that was in effect before gays were allowed to marry. That law granted gays all the rights and responsibilities of marriage except in name. The proposed civil unions law would be open to any two adults and would let anyone refuse to recognize the unions. It also would allow anyone to discriminate against the couples in employment, housing and public accommodations based on religious or moral beliefs.

I'm David Bates and I command you to have children!

Right, because if we let them, gay people will just marry willy-nilly, so we may as well open it up to "any two adults" - even relatives, perhaps? Some lady I happen to pass on the street? Sponsors of the bill condemn such same-sex couplings, citing the state's need to "[promote] stable and committed marital unions between opposite-sex couples so as to increase the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by both of their natural parents." Last I checked they weren't campaigning against divorce, separation, or single parenthood in the state of New Hampshire, though please stop me if I'm wrong. The statement that marriage exists solely to produce a child is an egregious one and a blow to civil rights, not to mention all that advocates, gay and straight, have fought for in the state over the past few years.

Legislators say that gay marriages already on the books will continue to be recognized, and opponents of the bill say there is little likelihood that it will pass. Still, stay tuned for more news from New Hampshire, or better yet, contact those assholes: rep.bates@live.com.

--submitted by OneAngryAlly while Ian Awesome continues to be off saving the world!