Vote nears on repealing New Hampshire’s marriage equality law
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is set to take a monumental vote in the coming days — whether or not to repeal portions of state law recognizing same sex marriages.
“No date has yet been scheduled for the vote on legislation to repeal New Hampshire’s same-sex marriage law, but the state House of Representatives will likely take up the matter in mid-January, soon after the Jan. 10 primary, lawmakers said last week,” the Nashua Telegraph reports.
“According to Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, a same-sex marriage advocacy group in Boston, more than 1,800 same-sex couples have married in New Hampshire since legislators enacted the law in 2009.
“Should the repeal bill pass, those couples would remain married in the eyes of the law, and they would retain their legal rights and benefits, according to Bates, the bill sponsor. Moving forward, same-sex couples looking to become legally joined would be restricted to civil unions, similar to those honored in other states and those enacted here prior to the gay marriage law.”
Like a large and rapidly growing number of Americans, Libertarians support marriage equality, but by a different means.
Rather than expanding government’s definition, taxing, regulation and licensing of marriage, Libertarians would repeal government marriage laws. Marriage would be defined by private contracts, such as through your church or synagogue, or through an attorney.
Many consider marriage to be a religious institution, but the government doesn’t license clergy to make sure they adhere to church teachings, it doesn’t license baptisms to make sure the saved are truly penitent nor does it license bar mitvahs and bat mitvahs.
Government laws defining, taxing, regulating and licensing marriage give government the power to control private relationships. As we see in New Hampshire, any government with the power to license and define your marriage also has the power to take away your legal status.
The Libertarian solution, repealing marriage laws instead of expanding them, is the only solution that protects and honors all.
