New Hampshire officially legalized marriages Wednesday for same-sex couples today, making it the sixth to do so.
The bill originally passed March 26 but was almost defeated, before an amendment was attached allowing clergy members to decline marriage to same-sex couples if they so wish on the basis of religious values.
New Hampshire previously outlawed same-sex marriages in 1987, and then passed a bill in 2004 allowing the state to not recognize gay marriage licenses from other states. In 2007, New Hampshire governor John Lynch signed a law recognizing same-sex civil unions, stating that the word marriage should be reserved for licenses between a man and a woman.
Today, Lynch said the bill was in line with New Hampshire’s tradition “to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections and that tradition continues today.”
