N.H. Lawmakers Expected to Vote on Marriage Equality Repeal Bill Next Week

New Hampshire lawmakers are expected to vote on a bill next week that would repeal the state’s marriage equality law.

Sources familiar with the legislative calendar indicate that the vote will likely take place on Jan. 18. The measure is expected to pass in the Republican-controlled state Legislature, but Gov. John Lynch, who signed the marriage equality bill into law in 2009, has said he would veto the measure. It remains unclear whether there are enough votes to override the governor’s veto.

Marriage became an issue on the campaign trail ahead of the state's Republican presidential primary on Jan. 10, with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum facing particular scrutiny over his strong opposition to marriage equality in the days leading up to the vote.

"I think it's just one of the catch phrases," said Peterborough resident Eric Rothhaus at the Breezeway in downtown Manchester on the eve of the primary when asked about whether marriage had been discussed too much on the campaign trail. "It's whatever the current thing [is] and I think that they're trying to get votes."

A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll in October found that 62 percent of Granite Staters support the marriage equality law, and 44 percent of them said they would consider voting against any lawmaker who supports the repeal bill.

Standing Up for New Hampshire Families earlier on Thursday unveiled a second ad that features a Claremont Republican, Craig Stowell, and his gay brother Calvin. The pro-marriage equality group’s first ad began airing on WMUR late last month.

Santorum Once Again Booed in N.H. for Opposition to Marriage Equality

In the second time in two days, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has found out that New Hampshire voters are not afraid to go there with him on his opposition to marriage for same-sex couples.



A group of college students challenged Santorum at New England College in Henniker on Thursday after he defended his opposition to marriage equality in a town hall.

Only eight percent of New Hampshire Republicans who responded to a WHDH/Suffolk University poll said they would vote for Santorum in the Jan. 10 primary, compared to 41 percent who said they support former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Santorum needs far more than adamant opposition to marriage equality to court libertarian-minded Granite Staters.

Students Challenge Santorum on Opposition to Marriage Equality

He certainly had it coming!

A group of students repeatedly challenged former Pennsylvnia Sen. Rick Santorum on his opposition to marriage for same-sex couples during a town hall at New England College in Henniker, N.H., on Jan. 5.



Only eight percent of likely Republican primary voters said they would vote for Santorum in a WHDH/Suffolk University poll that was published earlier in the day. Forty-one percent of respondents said they would vote for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Group Unveils Pro-Marriage Equality Ad in N.H.

A group that opposes a bill that would repeal New Hampshire’s marriage equality law on Wednesday, Dec. 21, unveiled a new ad that urges lawmakers to vote against the measure.

Standing Up for New Hampshire Families said in a press release that the ad, which features Republicans Maxine Morse and Craig and Berta Stowell and Democrat Dan Calegari, will run in heavy rotation on WMUR next week.

“Politicians should let our neighbors live their lives and leave them alone,” said Morse, a long-time GOP activist from Portsmouth.

A House vote on the marriage equality repeal bill could coincide with the Jan. 10 presidential primary. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have both backed efforts to repeal the law. Standing Up for New Hampshire Families pointed out that more than 1,000 same-sex couples have married in the Granite State since the statute took effect in Jan. 2010.



Sixty-two percent of respondents who participated in a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll in October said they oppose efforts to repeal the law. Eighty-one percent of them said marriage equality for gays and lesbians has not impacted their life.

Gay N.H. Veteran Challenges Romney on Marriage

A gay Army veteran proved once again that New Hampshire voters can prove particularly problematic to presidential hopefuls who descend upon their state every four years.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made small talk with Bob Garon during a campaign stop at Café Vachon in Manchester earlier on Monday, Dec. 12, before he sat next to him and his husband Bob Lemire. Garon asked Romney whether he supports efforts a bill that would repeal the Granite State’s marriage equality law.

“I support the repeal of the New Hampshire law,” said Romney. “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. That’s my view.”

A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll in October found that 81 percent of respondents said nuptials for gays and lesbians in New Hampshire have not impacted their life, but Romney continued to defend both the repeal bill and the federal Defense of Marriage Act in an increasingly tense and awkward exchange with Garon.

“I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman,” said Romney.

Poll: Cuomo Remains Popular Among N.Y. Voters

A new NY1/YNN-Marist Poll finds that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo remains popular among New York voters a year after he was elected.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said they think Cuomo has done either a good or excellent job in Albany, while 70 percent have a favorable impression of the governor. Another 75 percent of voters who responded to the poll described Cuomo as a good leader for New York. And 65 percent of respondents said they believe the governor has fulfilled the promises he made on the campaign trail.

Cuomo signed the state’s marriage equality bill into law on June 24. The governor’s $132.5 billion state budget for 2011-2012 that lawmakers approved in late March contained the first spending reduction from the previous year since 1995. Cuomo also signed an ethics reform bill into law in August designed to curb corruption that has long-tarnished state politics.

Sixty-three percent of respondents said that Cuomo is having a positive impact in Albany.

N.H. Lawmaker Drops Anti-Marriage Equality Amendment

A New Hampshire lawmaker announced on Tuesday, Nov. 1, that he will not pursue a constitutional amendment that would ban marriage for same-sex couples.

State Rep. David Bates (R-Windham) told the Associated Press that he wants the Legislature to debate his bill that would repeal the state’s marriage equality law that took effect on Jan. 1, 2010. Three-fifths of both houses and two-thirds of voters would need to approve an amendment if it were to be adopted. Bates appeared to acknowledge this high threshold while stressing to the AP that he did not want to force his colleagues in Concord to choose between an amendment and the repeal measure.

"It would complicate the decision for legislators if there was another alternative out there," said Bates.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 11-6 on Oct. 25 to recommend repealing the state’s marriage equality statute that Gov. John Lynch signed into law in June 2009.

A recent University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found that 62 percent of Granite State voters oppose efforts to repeal the state’s marriage equality law. Debate over the repeal measure could coincide with New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary that is expected to take place on Jan. 10.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry applauded efforts to repeal the marriage equality law during a speech he gave at Cornerstone Action’s annual banquet in Manchester on Oct. 28. Ray Buckley, chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, described Bates’ measure to Boy in Bushwick as “astonishing” after the House Judiciary Committee endorsed it.

Perry Backs Efforts to Repeal N.H. Marriage Equality Law

Speaking at Cornerstone Action's annual banquet in Manchester, N.H., on Friday, Oct. 28, Texas Gov. Rick Perry applauded lawmakers who back the repeal of New Hampshire's marriage equality law.

"As conservatives we believe in the sanctity of life. We believe in the sanctity of traditional marriage," said Perry, as reported by the Concord Monitor. "I applaud those legislators in New Hampshire who are working to defend marriage as an institution between one man and one woman, realizing that children need to be raised in a loving home by a mother and a father."

Perry made the remarks three days after the House Judiciary Committee recommended repealing the state's marriage equality law. A recent University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found the majority of New Hampshire voters oppose any effort to repeal the statute, but legislators are poised to debate the issue early next year--the state's first-in-the-nation presidential primary is likely to take place on Jan. 10.

Only four percent of Republican primary voters would vote for Perry, according to a UNH Survey Center/WMUR poll conducted earlier this month.

N.H. Legislative Panel Recommends Repeal of Marriage Equality Law

The New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee voted 11-6 on Tuesday, Oct. 25, to recommend repealing the state's marriage equality law.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in the Granite State since Jan. 2010. State Rep. David Bates (R-Windham)'s bill would ban same-sex marriages in New Hampshire, but the measure would allow unmarried adults to enter into a civil union. A University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll conducted between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2 found that 62 percent of voters oppose efforts to repeal the state's marriage equality law. Eighty-one percent of respondents said nuptials for gays and lesbians in New Hampshire have not impacted their life.

"It is astounding that Republican legislators would repeal New Hampshire's marriage equality law when not only do 60 percent of New Hampshire voters oppose the repeal, likely Republican presidential primary voters oppose repeal as well," New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Boy in Bushwick after the committee's vote. "The out of state radical agenda of Speaker Bill O'Brien has already made this legislature the most unpopular in New Hampshire history, playing games with thousands of families in New Hampshire is certainly not a popular path to take."

Maryland AG: Marriage Equality Bill Will Pass in 2012

Speaking at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 25, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler predicted a marriage equality bill will pass in the state Legislature next year.



Gansler spoke at CAP after the think tank and other LGBT and progressive organizations released a report on the impact of social and legal inequalities on children with LGBT parents.

Poll: Most N.H. Voters Oppose Efforts to Repeal Marriage Equality Law

A new poll indicates the vast majority of New Hampshire voters support the state's marriage equality law.

Sixty-two percent of respondents who participated in a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll conducted between Sept. 26 and Oct. 2 said they oppose efforts to repeal the law. Forty-four percent of New Hampshire voters are more likely to vote against a candidate who supports repealing the statute, while 47 percent of respondents said marriage equality has had no impact on New Hampshire. Eighty-one percent of respondents said nuptials for gays and lesbians in the Granite State have not impacted their life.

State lawmakers are poised to debate the issue in January, which could potentially coincide with the presidential primary. Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in New Hampshire since Jan. 2010.

A poll in February also found the majority of New Hampshire voters support marriage equality.

Video: Gay Fire Island Couple Marries After 58 Years Together

Nearly everyone in Cherry Grove, N.Y., turned out for Robert Scherffius and Victor Alfieri's wedding on the beach on Saturday, Sept. 17.



Scherffius and Alfieri, who met in New York City 58 years ago, are among the five same-sex and heterosexual couples who were married in the Grove on Saturday.

New Hampshire Governor Will Not Seek Re-Election

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch announced earlier today that he will not seek a fifth term as governor of the Granite State.

Lynch, who was first elected in 2004, made the announcement at a Manchester elementary school. Lynch's announcement came a day after a House subcommittee approved a bill that would repeal New Hampshire's marriage equality law.

Lynch signed the measure in June 2009, but the National Organization for Marriage attacked his pro-marriage equality stance ahead of last November's election. Republicans swept statewide contests, but Lynch was re-elected for a fourth term with 52 percent of the vote.

Fire Island 2011: Eye Candy Amid a Calamity of Errors

Started writing in Marble Hill at 4:48 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26.

The eye candy proved particularly sweet in Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines on Saturday, July 23. A combination of Calcutta-like weather, mosquitoes, an incompetent water taxi dispatcher and a laptop malfunction, however, conspired to create a less than ideal weekend on the beach for this increasingly exacerbated reporter.

Now that I have that rant out of my system, it’s on to the things that actually went well over the weekend. These included welcoming wounded veterans to a sultry Ocean Beach on Friday, July 22, attending the Hetrick-Martin Institute’s annual Pines pool party and Dancing on the Bay on Saturday, July 23. I rounded out the day with Jonny Mack at the Ice Palace in the Grove.

News that Amy Winehouse had been found dead in her London apartment spread like wildfire across Fire Island on Saturday afternoon. Porsche paid homage to the troubled British chanteuse at her Saturday night show at the Ice Palace. “Back to Black” and “Rehab” provided an appropriate, if not tragically ironic, soundtrack for the post-Dancing on the Bay walk between the Pines and the Grove.

In far more positive news, the state’s marriage equality law took effect on Sunday, July 24. I was standing on the dock in the Grove at the stroke of midnight—and I learned that Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd had successfully become the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York when I saw pictures of their wedding at Niagara Falls streaming on Facebook and Twitter while I was on a Seaview-bound water taxi. Two gay couples from Fire Island exchanged vows later on Sunday after they obtained marriage licenses at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville. The New York Times posted a picture on their website of newlyweds Jim Kelly-Evans and Dan Evans from the top of the ferry as they returned from the mainland.

Congratulations Jim and Dan and other same-sex couples on Fire Island who either married on Sunday or plan to tie the knot in the near future.



Passing south of West Island on the 12:45 p.m. ferry to Ocean Beach from Bay Shore on Friday, July 22.



At the Grove Hotel pool on Saturday, July 23.



Looking towards the bay from inside the Belvedere Guest House in the Grove on Saturday, July 23.



Sunset from Dancing on the Bay in the Pines on Saturday, July 23.



Porsche pays tribute to Amy Winehouse at the Ice Palace in the Grove on Sunday, July 23.

Snapshots of Marriage Equality in New York

Marriage equality is officially a reality in New York!

I was on the dock in Cherry Grove when the law officially took effect at midnight, and the marvels of Twitter and Facebook allowed me to read that Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd had become the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York. The DJ at Cherry's played Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" shortly after midnight, but there were no outward celebrations of the historic milestone.

A few hours later, I was finally able to board a water taxi from Ocean Beach. A large rainbow flag flew above an American flag on the end of the dock in Grove. In the Pines, an ecstatic Robin Byrd proclaimed in the harbor that it "was about damn time" that same-sex couples could marry. Florist Erin Black was busy putting the final touches on a flower assortment and matching boutonnieres for a gay couple who went to the Brookhaven Town Clerk's office in Farmingville to get married.

I ended this historic day at the LGBT Community Center in lower Manhattan where state Sens. Tom Duane [D-Manhattan] and Diane Savino [D-Staten Island], New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry, Ross Levi of the Empire State Pride Agenda and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah joined dozens of same-sex couples who married earlier in the day.

Here are some snapshots that capture the day.



Newlyweds Stacey Minondo and Barbara Tremblay shortly after they stepped out of a cab at the LGBT Community Center in lower Manhattan. The Brooklyn women were the first same-sex couple to marry at Borough Hall in Brooklyn on Sunday, July 24.



Eufemio and John Torres of Brooklyn attend the LGBT Community Center's wedding reception on Sunday, July 24.



Pride and patriotism flew high in Cherry Grove on Sunday, July 24.



This message certainly resonated among some of those who celebrated marriage equality in New York on Sunday, July 24.

City Unveils Lottery to Accommodate Expected Crush of Same-Sex Weddings

With five days to go until gays and lesbians can legally marry in New York, city officials earlier today unveiled a lottery designed to accommodate the expected crush of same-sex weddings on the day the marriage equality law takes effect.

The lottery, which will accommodate 764 same-sex and heterosexual couples, opened at noon. It will close at noon on Thursday, July 21.

"We are going to make history on Sunday, with the eyes of the nation once again turning to New York City," said Bloomberg as he spoke at City Hall alongside City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and City Clerk Michael McSweeney. "We’ve done our homework, and it’s clear that the number of couples who want to marry on Sunday is more than the City Clerk’s offices could possibly handle. And the last thing we want is for couples to wait on line for hours and hours, only to walk away upset on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. The fairest way to determine who gets the chance to wed on Sunday and ensure everyone can properly plan for their own big day is through an even-handed lottery system."

Log onto the City Clerk's website for more information about the lottery.

Quinn: We Made History Because We Never Lost Faith

Speaking at the Dream Hotel in Chelsea earlier tonight, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn once again applauded those who spurred state lawmakers to support the marriage equality bill.

The presumptive 2013 mayoral candidate told supporters that they made history "because we never lost faith," referring to the state Senate's 24-36 vote against a marriage equality bill in Dec. 2009.

Quinn's partner, Kim Catullo, was among those in attendance.

Fire Island 2011: Disaster Averted!

Started writing at 3:11 p.m. on Sunday, July 10, at the pool at the Grove Hotel in Cherry Grove.

It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon here on the beach with a deep blue sky, low humidity and DJ Chuck spinning Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” before Ariel Sinclair’s first number.

This post-July 4 weekend included Congressman Tim Bishop talking about marriage equality in New York, the Defense of Marriage Act and other LGBT-specific measures on Capitol Hill and local beach management. Lambda Legal’s annual Fire Island Pines fundraiser took place on Saturday, July 9, while Logan Hardcore thankfully did not nearly drown anyone at the Grove Hotel this weekend. And a group of Islip lifeguards who were trying to raise money to attend an upcoming lifeguard tournament on Saturday night quickly learned that Cherry's patrons are far more generous to those who take off their shirts.

On a far more serious note, Grove firefighters thwarted a potential catastrophe on Friday, July 8, when they quickly extinguished a fire at Xanadu at Lewis and Gerard Walks. The blaze only damaged the second floor of the complex’s guesthouse, but it could have been far worse. Those sitting here at the pool show watching Sinclair prance around the pool in a gold-sequined dress may not realize that one spark or one carelessly tossed cigarette butt can quickly become a raging inferno.

Mother Nature—there was no wind and it was raining when the fire broke out around 6 p.m. on Friday—certainly spared the Grove from a potential disaster. One Xanadu resident summed it up best while praising firefighters’ quick response and local residents who helped with the cleanup.

“The heart of the community showed that night,” she said.

Indeed.



Impromptu modern art at a Pines home on Saturday, July 9.



At the pool show at the Ice Palace on Saturday, July 9.



Another beautiful sunset from the Grove's dock on Saturday, July 9.



Ariel Sinclair at the Ice Palace's pool show on Sunday, July 10.

Fire Island 2011: Fire Islanders celebrate marriage equality

Began writing at 10:21 p.m. while sitting on my desk in Brooklyn.

The happiness over last night's historic marriage equality vote in Albany was palpable on Fire Island today. Those who attended Porsche's show at the Ice Palace in Cherry Grove last night began to cry when they learned the state Senate passed the measure in a 33-29 vote. A large banner reading "Thank you, New York. We do!" hung from the High Tea deck in Fire Island Pines, and state flags flew at Low Tea. Drag queens, cross-dressers, couples and almost anyone else who marched in the Grove's annual Pride parade earlier today rejoiced in the fact that marriage equality will soon come to Fire Island and the rest of New York.

Congratulations to gay and lesbian Fire Islanders who will soon be able to legally marry in the Empire State.



At the Grove's annual Pride parade.



A tranquil day at the beach in the Grove.



Happy Pride from the Grove!



A potential sign of things to come in the Pines.

State Senate passes marriage equality bill

The state Senate earlier tonight approved a marriage equality bill by a 33-29 margin. The measure will become law 30 days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs it.