NH residents oppose repeal of same-sex marriage
New Hampshire residents overwhelmingly oppose plans by some legislators to attempt to repeal the state's 2009 law that legalized same-sex marriage, according to polling data released Feb. 9.
The Granite State Poll, sponsored by WMUR-TV and conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, found that only 29 percent of New Hampshire adults support repeal, 62 percent oppose repeal, and 9 percent are neutral on the matter or lack an opinion.
Pollsters questioned 520 randomly selected adults by telephone between Jan. 27 and Feb. 6. The margin of error was 4.3 percent.
In last November's elections, Republicans took control of both houses of the Legislature and have enough seats to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. John Lynch.
Bills have been filed to repeal the marriage-equality law and to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex couples from marrying.
Four Republican senators or 32 Republican House members would need to join every Democrat in one or the other chamber to uphold a gubernatorial veto of any bill ending same-sex marriage. The Senate has 24 members, of whom 19 now are Republican, and the House has 400 members, of whom 298 are Republican.
Same-sex marriage also is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Internationally, it is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Mexico (where same-sex marriages are allowed only in the capital city but are recognized nationwide).
