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Sharing The
Policy
Governor John Lynch, Democrat,signed bill
which went into effectJan 1 2010, he said
"Today we are standing up for the liberties
of same-sex couples by making clear they
receive the same rights, responsibilities,
and respect under New Hampshire Law,
At first the committees were controlled by
Republicans who were against same-sex
marriage but then the democrats
controlled theHouse of representatives
who endorsed gay marriage in a 198-176
vote Senate approved legislation 14-10
along party lines, made state 4th to
endorse Gay marriage in 2009.

Some Endorsers
Marriage Equality

USA
National gay and
Lesbian task force
(1991)
Glad-Gay and
Lesbian Advocates
and Defenders
(Legal Advocates
since 1978).

A Pro:
Same-sex marriage
helped New Hampshire's
economy because it
boosted the economy by
about 111$ Million
according to the Williams
Institute university of
California.

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"marriage" as follows:
So far as its validity in law is
concerned, marriage is a civil
contract between a man and a
woman, to which the consent of
parties capable in law of contracting
is essential. Consent alone is not
enough to effectuate a legal
marriage on and after January 1,
1957. Consent shall be followed by
obtaining a license as required by
section 1 of Act No. 128 of the Public
Acts of 1887, being section 551.101
of the Michigan Compiled Laws, or as
provided for by section 1 of Act No.
180 of the Public Acts of 1897, being
section 551.201 of the Michigan
Compiled Laws, and solemnization as
authorized by sections 7 to 18 of this
chapter. [MCL 551.2; emphasis
added.]

Chapter 551 further defines

In addition, sections 3 and 4 of

chapter 551 specify:
*A man shall not marry . . . another
man. [MCL 551.3.]
*A woman shall not marry . . .
another woman. [MCL 551.4.]

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In June 1995, the Michigan house of representatives

voted 88-14 to ban same sex marriage in the state.

The Michigan senate voted 31-12 in favor of the ban.

On September 15, 2011, the Michigan House of

Representatives, in a 64-44 vote, approved a bill that
would ban most public employers, though not
colleges and universities, from offering health
benefits to the domestic partners of their employees.
It did not apply to workers whose benefits are
established by the Michigan Civil Service
Commission.

On December 7, 2011, the Michigan State Senate, in

a 27-9 vote, approved of the bill. On December 22,
2011, Governor Rick Synder signed the legislation.

On June 28, 2013, U.S. District Judge avid M Lawson

issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state
from enforcing its law banning local governments and
school districts from offering health benefits to their
employees' domestic partners.

In 2004 Voters approved a constitutional amendment,

Proposal 04-2. Which banned both licensing of same
sex marriages and recognition of marriages from
other jurisdictions.

ry.
sto
Hi

*City of East Lansing.

*City of Detroit-No residency required.

(Both opposite and same sex couples)

*City of Ann Arbor-No residency

required.

majority of voters in Michigan

support the freedom to marry,
numbered at 56%.
According to the 2010 Michigan
Census,14,598 same sex couples
live in the state.
This represents 3.8 same sex
couples per 1,000 households.
There is no statewide recognition,
however these local governments do
recognize domestic partnerships

Polling data states: that a significant

*Also Ingham, Washtenaw and Wayne

Counties.

*City of Kalamazoo(Both opposite and

same sex couples)

a
t
Da

 On January 16,2015 the united states

u
Stat
s

supreme court granted review of the

out of step ruling from the 6 th circuit
court of appeals about the freedom to
marry in Michigan.
The case will be heard on April
28th,2015 and the ruling should be
expected by June 2015.
As the case makes its way up through
the courts, most Michigans residents
will continue to work LGBT rights and
have formed support groups such as:
Michigan For marriage, Equality
Michigan, ACLU of Michigan and
Freedom to Marry.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

(LGBT) persons in the U.S state of Michigan
face legal challenges non-LGBT residents do
not.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Michigan
but Same-sex couples and families headed by
same-sex couples are not eligible for all the
protections available to opposite-sex married
couples.
In 2003, Governor Jennifer Granholm issued an
executive order prohibiting employment
discrimination state level public sector
employment on the basis of sexual orientation.
This only covers employees of the state, does
not cover public sector employees of county,
school or local governments.
In 2013Governor rick Synder signed a
emergency harbor funding a bill that states
that discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity is also prohibited
in the state government employment, but there
are no other state wide protections.
Now over 30 local municipalities have local
human rights ordinances which prohibit
discrimination based on sexual orientation
and /or gender identity in employment and
housing.

LG
BT
R ig
s
t
h

li
Po
t ic
ce
Pro
al
ss

Same-sex marriage has been

legally recognized in New
Hampshire since January 1, 2010,
based on legislation signed into
law by the governor on June 3,
2009.
The law provided that civil unions
, which the state had established
as of January 1, 2008, would be
converted to marriages on
January 1, 2011, unless
dissolved, annulled, or converted
to marriage before that date.

Their report opposed as well the idea of civil unions like those
recognized in Vermont in July 2000. The commission proposed
instead certificates that would guarantee certain rights like
hospital visitation, but no financial benefits.
The certificates would be available to siblings, parents, and
children as well. The commission members who dissented said it
spent too much time hearings attacks on the morality of
homosexuality. The chairman, Tony Soltani, a Republican member
of the state 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."
He said homosexuality could not be compared to race, because it
is an "acquired behavior" or a "combination of both nature and
nurture." He added: "I know it's not a long-term solution, but it is
something a child can point to and say, my representatives say I'm

Continued

New Hampshire established a 14-member commission to consider

the question of civil recognition of same-sex relationships. The
group, composed of legislators, politicians, and activists, reported
its findings in November 2005. By a 7-to-4 vote it recommended
modifying the state constitution 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.

Democrats became the majority party in

the New Hampshire state legislature in the
2006 general election.
Both Democratic and Republican legislators
proposed legislation to grant same-sex
couples greater civil rights. The proposals
ranged from allowing a couple to enter into
a "contractual cohabitation," a "civil union,"
a "spousal union," or a same-sex marriage.
Governor John Lynch opposed same-sex
marriage, but indicated that he was
receptive to discussing civil unions as a
means of granting certain rights to samesex couples.

In 20

On April 4, 2007, by a vote of 243 to 129, the New Hampshire

House passed a civil unions bill that gave partners in samesex civil unions the same "rights, responsibilities and
obligations" as heterosexual married couples.

07

In early 2007, the legislature briefy considered a bill

authorizing same-sex marriage until Democratic leaders
assigned it to a study committee.

Lynch took no public position until April 19, when he said that
he would sign legislation establishing civil unions for samesex couples because he believed "it is a matter of
conscience, fairness and preventing discrimination.
"On April 26, 2007, the New Hampshire Senate approved the
civil unions bill 14-10 on a party line vote.

On May 31, 2007, Governor John Lynch signed the civil unions
bill into law making New Hampshire "the first state to
embrace same-sex unions without a court order or the threat
of one. "The law took effect January 1, 2008 Licenses for civil
unions became available on December 10, 2007 allowing civil
unions to be formalized in the very early hours of January 1,
2008. Deputy secretary of state David Scanlan said, "As far
as we're concerned, everything is on schedule.

The First Union

The first civil unions were formed throughout New

Hampshire just after midnight on January 1, 2008. The
largest gathering occurred on the steps of the State House
in Concord. An estimated 40 couples participated as 200300 friends, family and onlookers observed. The event
drew one protestor who "quietly handed out a statement
calling all sex outside of heterosexual marriage a sin.
Under the New Hampshire civil unions law, same-sex civil
unions or marriages conducted in other jurisdictions were
recognized as civil unions in New Hampshire.
Representative Maureen Mooney introduced legislation to
repeal that portion of the civil unions bill, but her proposal
was deemed inexpedient to legislate, a legislative
procedure equivalent to not passing the bill out of
committee. At the end of 2008, after the law had been in
effect for one year, approximately 600 civil union licenses
had been issued by the state, while approximately 8,700
marriage licenses were issued by the state during the
same period.

Civil
U n io
n s to
Marr
i a ge

As of January 1, 2010, no new civil

unions were established in the state.
Parties to a valid civil union before that
date were able to have their marriages
solemnized, provided they met the legal
requirements of the state marriage
laws.
Additionally, such persons in civil unions
before January 1, 2010, were able to
record their civil unions with the town or
city clerk who recorded the civil union
and receive a marriage license, with no
additional fee or solemnization required.
A civil union entered into before January
1, 2010, that had not been dissolved,
annulled, or transformed into a
marriage, was converted to a marriage

In 2010, the legislature considered two

repeal proposals, a bill to repeal both the
same-sex marriage law and the state's 2007
civil union law and a constitutional
amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The
New Hampshire House defeated both of
them on February 17, 2010.
On October 25, 2011, the House Judiciary
Committee voted 11-6 for 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 antidiscrimination law 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 was disputed
In January 2012, Representative David
Bates, the principal sponsor of the
legislation, said the bill would be the first
legislative repeal of same-sex marriage in
the U.S. and Governor John Lynch announced
he would veto any repeal of the state's
same-sex marriage statute. New Hampshire
Republicans were generally identified with
the repeal effort and they controlled the 400member House by a 3-1 margin. The Nashua

Repeal Efforts

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. Bates' own
amendment to delay the bill's effective date
until March 31 so a non-binding referendum
on the issue of same-sex marriage could be
held in November failed on a vote of 188-162,
with 96 of the chamber's 293 Republicans
voting against the referendum. Opposing the
referendum, Representative Shawn Jasper,
House Deputy Majority Leader, said: "We are
the most representative body in the country,
if not the world. If we feel the need to go to
our constituents and ask them a question, we
are clearly in trouble.
On March 21, 2012, the House defeated the
bill on a vote of 211 to 116. By the spring of
2012, 1,900 same-sex couples had married in
the state. Democrat Maggie Hassan, a
supporter of same-sex marriage, ran against
the legislature's record and won election as
governor in November 2012 and Democrats
took control of the House.

nue

ti
Con

For several years following the legalization

of same-sex marriage in New Hampshire,
the state's Uniform Marriage Recognition
Law invalidated any marriage contracted in
New Hampshire by non-residents if their
intended state of residence would not
recognize the validity of the marriage if
contracted within its own jurisdiction.
In July 2014, Governor Hassan signed
legislation designed to clarify the status of
same-sex marriages. It established that
same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions
are recognized by New Hampshire as valid
from the date they were contracted, even if
they pre-dated New Hampshire's
recognition of same-sex marriage; that New
Hampshire recognizes the same-sex
marriages of non-residents whether or not
their home jurisdiction recognizes the
marriage; and allows those in civil unions in
other jurisdictions to marry in New
Hampshire without first dissolving their civil
union.

As of Today

Union Law, RSA 457-A:6

This law takes effect on
January 1, 2008, and allows
same sex couples to enter
into a civil union that
confers the same legal
rights and obligations upon
them as apply to be
married couples. RSA 457A:6. The law also extends
legal recognition to civil
unions entered into outside
of New Hampshire,
provided that the
relationship meets the
provisions of New
Hampshires civil union law.
HB 437

New Hampshires Civil

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Passed And Signed by

Governor
Chaptered Law:0058
HB437 -FN-L
Session Year 2007
Bill Docket
Bill Status
Bill Text
Bill History
Roll Calls

Title: (New Title) permitting same gender couples to enter civil unions and have
the same rights, responsibilities, and obligations as married couples.

G-Status:

SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

House Status:

PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT

Senate Status:

PASSED / ADOPTED

Next/Last Comm:

SENATE JUDICIARY

Next/Last Hearing:

04/10/2007 at 01:15 PM REPRESENTATIVES' HAL

Chaptered Law:0160
HB437
Session Year 2009
Bill Docket
Bill Status
Bill Text

Title: relative to the operation of the Chesterfield welcome and information

center.

G-Status:

SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

House Status:

PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT

Senate Status:

PASSED / ADOPTED