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NH House voted not to repeal marriage equalitybr/>

p> To listen to the House session live follow the link./p> p> We need 134 nay votes to sustain a promised veto./p> p>http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/media/live_media.htm/p> br/>

The bill to repeal marriage equality in New Hampshire HB437 has once again been scheduled for a vote next week March 21. The bill must be voted on by March 29th cross over day when all House bills must go over to the Senate for Senate action /p>p>It is time to take action. So call your legislators today We need every State House Representative to hear from pro-equality voters in their districts. /p>p>When you call or leave a message please say your full name, where you live, and that you are calling to urge the Representative to protect marriage for committed New Hampshire couples. New Hampshire has never taken rights away from people and now is not the time to start certainly not now during these very tough economic times. Please let us know how the call went at info@nhftm.org./p>p>The bill may pass the NH House and Senate. If it dos the Governor will veto the bill. The bill will not become law unless both the NH House and Senate can override the veto. To override the Governorrsquo;s veto it takes 2/3 of those present both in the NH House and Senate to vote to override. With full attendance that would be 266 of 400 House members and 16 of 24 Senators voting to override. It would take 134 House members to vote no( nay) to block.

p>In the next couple of weeks, the New Hampshire House will vote on a bill to repeal Marriage Equality.#160; This bill takes away the civil rights of commited couples. This bill would also remove the state legal protections for same-sex couples by explicitly allowing any business or individual to refuse to recognize same-sex relationships with no legal recourse. Time is running out! What can you do? /p>p> a href=”http://equalityfederation.salsalabs.com/o/35021/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=473″>CONTACT /a>YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND TELL THEM TO VOTE AGAINST THE MARRIAGE EQUALITY REPEAL BILL./p>p> a href=”http://equalityfederation.salsalabs.com/o/35021/letter/?letter_KEY=13″>WRITE/a>#160;A LETTER TO THE EDITOR URGING THE DEFEAT OF THIS MEAN SPIRITED BILL./p>p>Time is running out!/p>

p>The NH House of Representatives will be voting on HB 437 and HB 443./p>p>It is time to Take Action and contact your Representatives. /p>p>Forward this to your friends and family and ask them to do the same./p>p>Report the results of contact to info@nhftm.org/p>p>Write a letter to the editor by going to our take action page./p>p>These bills may pass the NH House and Senate If they do the Governor will veto the bills. The bills will not become law unless both the NH House and Senate can override the veto. To override the Governor’s veto it takes 2/3 of those present both in the NH House and Senate to vote to override. With full attendance that would be 266 of 400 House members and 16 of 24 Senators voting to override. It would take 134 House members to vote no to block repeal. /p>p>The State of marriage in New Hampshire. In January of 2011 two pieces of legislation to repeal New Hampshire’s marriage equality were introduced to the New Hampshire House of Representatives. The two pieces of legislation are HB437 and HB443. The bills were assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.On February 17, 2011 a public hearing on these bills was held in Concord at the State House. It is required in New Hampshire that all bills introduced have a public hearing and get a vote in the full Houses of Representatives. The turnout for this hearing was overwhelmingly in support of marriage equality and in opposition to HB437 and HB443, the bills to repeal marriage equality. /p>p>On March 3, 2011 the Judiciary committee voted to retain both these pieces of legislation. All bills retained in commmittee for action shall be acted on during the second year of session. On September 14 a sub-committee recommended that HB443 be voted I.T.L. (inexpedient to legislate). This is a recommendation to kill the bill. The sub-committee recommended amending HB437. The amendment would repeal New Hampshire’s anti-discrimination law as well as marriage equality in NH./p>p>On November 2, 2011 the Judiciary Committee voted to accept the sub-committees recommendations and make these recommendations to the full house of Representatives in January. The legislation to repeal the law that grants marriage equality will be voted on by the full House in January 2012./p>p>There will be no further public hearings on these bills./p>/p>

p>Mo Baxley, Executive Director of New Hampshire Freedom to Marry, will be stepping down. /p>p>She has served the organization for nearly six years and was the group’s first Executive Director. Under her leadership, New Hampshire Freedom to Marry engaged in public education efforts that created overwhelming public support for marriage equality, followed by a successful effort to make New Hampshire the first state to achieve marriage equality entirely though the legislative process./p>p>Mo;s leadership has made an incredible difference for our community. As Executive Director her commitment, tenacity and strategic planning helped build New Hampshire Freedom to Marry into a powerful voice for equality. Mo has gone above and beyond the call of duty and we owe her a great debtrdquo;, said NHFTM Board member Brian Rater./p>p>It has been an honor to serve the members of New Hampshire Freedom to Marry and those people who work in New Hampshirersquo;s for equality and justicerdquo; said Mo, New Hampshire Freedom to Marry remains the most critical organization in the fight to protect marriage equality.  I am incredibly proud of the success we have had over the past six years and of New Hampshirersquo;s status as the only state to pass equality entirely legislatively. I have every confidence that as we close this legislative session at the end of 2012 marriage equality will be settled law in New Hampshire./p>p>Mo is stepping down due to a lack of funding said Claire Ebel, NHFTM Board member. ldquo;There is no better advocate on this issue in New Hampshire than Mo Baxley. We are very sad to lose Mo but remain confident in the foundation that we have built together. New Hampshire Freedom to Marry, the statersquo;s LGBT education and advocacy organization, looks forward to successfully defending marriage equality in New Hampshirerdquo; said Rator./p>