Starting to Lose Count of Gay Marriage States?

Us, too. Via Ben Smith at Politico:

The New Hampshire State Senate just passed a bill making same-sex marriage law — by a single vote, 13-11.

The same bill already passed the House, and now goes to the desk of Governor John Lynch, a Democrat who has said he opposes same-sex marraige, but hasn’t said how he’d act on the legislation.

Now Hampshire reports that it’s a big win for Democratic Chairman Ray Buckley, and a New Hampshire politico describes to me “insane behind-the-scenes wrangling,” with two votes switching in the last 24 hours.

Also, the New Hampshire State Senate only has 24 people?

  • Colin

    That’s because its House of Representatives has 400.

  • Molly

    yay!!! If the Deep South of the Northeast can do it, so can the rest of the states…

  • Colin

    On the why, if you look up _The Constitutionalism of American States_ (Connor, Hammons, Lutz eds)

    http://books.google.com/books?id=fFOv5d3Mbf4C&pg=PA53&dq=%22New+Hampshire%22+constitution+1784

    on google books and read Schuman’s essay starting on page you’ll get a sense of the political history and political culture of the state. NH gov’t has a number of unique features.

    But I would say, having grown up in the South and later lived 7 years in NH, that Molly’s characterization misses what matters. NH conservatism and/or Republicanism can be paranoid and mean. But its roots, history, social organization, and ideology are quite different from Southern conservatism. Apropos to the current question it tends to be more libertarian and less overtly Christian. Insular, not apocalyptic.

    (Also remember that the identification of Republicans with the South is historically recent; New England Republicanism is now dying out partly because it does *not* fit the national party.)

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