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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>

p>APNewsBreak: NH rep drops gay marriage amendment/p> p> By Norma Love /p> p>Associated Press / November 1, 2011 /p> p>CONCORD, N.H.—The sponsor of a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage has decided not to pursue the measure next year to clear the way for a debate over repealing New Hampshire’s law legalizing the unions./p> p>State Rep. David Bates, the Windham Republican who also is sponsor of the repeal bill, told The Associated Press on Tuesday he wants to let the Legislature consider repealing the law enacted under Democrats two years ago before debating a constitutional change — a process that would take longer to implement./p> p>quot;The bill to change the meaning of marriage back to what it was in statute is well on its way,quot; Bates  said. Bates said he did not want to risk having lawmakers choosing between two measures: the bill and a constitutional amendment. quot;It would complicate the decision for legislators if there was another alternative out there,quot; he said. The legislative process seems the appropriate way to decide the issue, he said. If a constitutional amendment is used, millions of dollars in out-of-state money would flow into New Hampshire on both sides of the issue, he said. quot;I don’t think that’s the way people want it decided,quot; he said. Constitutional amendments need three-fifths vote of the membership of both houses to be placed on the ballot and two-thirds approval of the voters to be adopted./p> p>Same-sex marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Another 30 states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. The House Judiciary Committee voted last week to recommend replacing the law legalizing same-sex marriage with civil unions for any unmarried adults, including relatives. The committee recommended killing a bill that simply repealed the law. /p> p>The full House must vote on the bills early next year. If the House passes the repeal bill, it would go to the Senate. It takes a majority to pass bills. Democratic Gov. John Lynch has repeatedly said he will veto attempts by the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal the law, which he signed in 2009. New Hampshire enacted civil unions in 2007 for same-sex couples and two years later replaced that law with the marriage law. Lynch also signed the civil unions law./p> Repeal opponents, including some Republican lawmakers, believe the vote to pass the bill in the House early next year will be close. They believe if it passes and is vetoed, they have the votes to sustain a veto. It takes a two-thirds vote of those present and voting to override a veto. On the other hand, Bates said he believes the law will be repealed. The bill would not enact the same civil unions law that was in effect before gays were allowed to marry. That law granted gays all the rights and responsibilities of br/>