HB 436 - Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage

Author/Sponsor: Rep. Splaine, Rep. McEachern, Rep. Butler, and Rep. B. Richardson
Date Introduced: 8 January 2009
Date Enacted: 1 January 2010
Description:

• A bill that amended existing statutes related to marriage by specifying that it is a legally recognized union of two people, provided that they meet the existing eligibility requirements beginning 1 January 2010, thereby eliminating the prohibition against same-sex marriage. Specifies that individuals licensed to solemnize marriages are authorized to refuse to solemnize any particular civil marriage in violation of their religious or free expression rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and New Hampshire Constitution. Specifies that marriages legally contracted outside of the State of New Hampshire, including same-sex marriages, shall be recognized by the state of New Hampshire as a legitimate marriage once the contracting parties become permanent residents of the state.
• The law provided that civil unions, which the state had established as of 1 January 2008, would be converted to marriages on 1 January 2011, unless dissolved, annulled, or converted to marriage before that date.
• Signed by Governor John Lynch on 3 June 2009. Lynch was the second governor in the United States to sign a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.