CONCORD, N.H. (ABP) — Just an hour after the New Hampshire House of Representatives gave final approval to a group of bills legalizing gay marriage early in the evening of June 3, Gov. John Lynch (D) signed them into law, the Associated Press and the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign reported.
With the move, New Hampshire becomes the sixth state in the nation with legalized gay marriage — and the third to approve it legislatively. The Granite State follows Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa — whose highest courts in recent years said denying marriage to gay couples violated their states’ charters — and Vermont and Maine, whose legislators also approved marriage equality for gay couples.
Lynch, a Roman Catholic, had withheld his signature from earlier legislation, pressing lawmakers for what he considered stronger protections in the bill for institutions and individuals who have religious objections to same-sex marriage.
The legislation will reportedly take effect in January.
California’s Supreme Court approved same-sex marriage in that state last year, but voters moved quickly to revoke the right with a constitutional amendment that passed, narrowly, in November.
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Robert Marus is managing editor and Washington bureau chief for Associated Baptist Press
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