GOP Urges Gov. Lynch To Veto New Hampshire Marriage Bill

After yesterday's surprising failure of the New Hampshire House to reapprove a marriage equality bill with religious exemptions requested by Gov. John Lynch, state GOP leaders are now urging Lynch to veto the bill should it reappear on this desk.

Republicans also called for a non-binding referendum on the same-sex marriage to go before voters in the 2010 election. New Hampshire forbids binding voter referendums. “Now is the time to allow the citizens of New Hampshire to vote on a same-sex marriage referendum,” said Sen. Minority Leader Peter Bragdon, R-Milford. Former House Speaker and current House assistant minority leader Gene Chandler, R-Bartlett, said the proposed budget is half a billion dollars out of balance and there is only six weeks to resolve it before the new fiscal year begins. “However you feel about same-sex marriage it is time to move on and deal with the budget of the State of New Hampshire,” Chandler said this morning at a news conference.

After voting the bill down, the NH House approved a resolution referring the item to committee, meaning it can be voted on again in the current session.