( - promoted by Dean Barker)
As of the beginning of this month, 734 of our fellow New Hampshire gay and lesbian friends, neighbors, and family members have been able to be married since the beginning of this year. That has been possible because of passage by our State Legislature of House Bill 436, which provides for marriage equality.
They have been allowed to make legal commitments to share their love and caring for one another as couples. What a wonderful gift to them all. Their commitments as couples to their loved ones makes our state, and the institution of marriage and all that it represents, even stronger.
On Town Meeting Day this Tuesday, a number of communities have warrant questions on their ballots about marriage equality. The wording of the question in most towns considering this matter sounds "innocent" enough: "The citizens of New Hampshire should be allowed to vote on an amendment to the New Hampshire Constitution that defines 'marriage.'"
We should not vote to write discrimination into our Constitution. It is a document that provides for governmental structure and for guarantees of our citizen rights, not for discrimination. I urge the good people of our towns to vote "no" on the question. I hope readers of www.BlueHampshire.com will go to their town meetings and speak out in opposition.
As you know, and in part due to the work of many readers of www.BlueHampshire.com, the New Hampshire House defeated a constitutional amendment, CACR 28, last month by a vote of 201 to 135. Thirty Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the amendment. Forty Republicans joined Democrats in defeating a bill calling for repeal of HB 436.
A small group has been trying to make marriage equality a wedge issue for November, 2010 by organizing the placement of warrant items on the town ballots. The votes on Tuesday won't have any legal effect, but by bringing the issue up our opponents hope that marriage equality will be repealed in the next Legislative Session.
Most of New Hampshire has moved on, and we're focusing on the problems of jobs, the economy, balancing the budget, and all those other matters of concern to our citizens. Returning to discrimination in our marriage laws will do nothing to solve the problems we have to meet to restore our economy and rebound from the job losses of the past few years.
I think that the good citizens of New Hampshire who are proud to call our state "home" will not vote to take rights away from their neighbors. Why would we take away rights from 734 of our citizens which they now have, and the thousands more who will join them in coming years?
Politics and political positioning aside, why would we want to, for the first time ever, write discrimination into our State Constitution? That is not "The New Hampshire Way."
|
