I will be in New Hampshire this week — to urge legislative members of my party to reject House Bill 437. It’s time to stand up for individual freedom and liberty, to live by the Golden Rule and to oppose any effort to diminish or strip away individual rights, and to return to the real business of building business, keeping taxes down and growing our economy. “Live Free or Die” should be more than just a slogan. -- The Union-Leader

NOM co-founder Maggie Gallagher has just published a research brief on this very topic: "Why Libertarians Should Oppose Same-Sex Marriage".

Ruth Institute President Jennifer Roback Morse has also published on the subject: "The Libertarian Case for Man Woman Marriage".

...Mike Dennehy, the New Hampshire lobbyist for the National Organization for Marriage, delivered an anti-same-sex-marriage treatise to Republican State Chairman Wayne MacDonald last week.

Dennehy is a senior GOP strategist who helped build John McCain’s New Hampshire presidential primary victories in 2000 and 2008.

“The 2012 elections provide plenty of opportunities but many pitfalls, as well,’’ Dennehy said in a memo obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.

“In the 20 years I’ve been running campaigns at every level, I can tell you that this year, more than any other, will hinge on the party who best motivates their base and gets them to the polls on Election Day.

“We have one issue this year that will motivate social and cultural conservatives to go to the polls for Republican candidates – traditional marriage.’’
Kellyanne Conway, of The Polling Co., did a survey late last fall that found 71 percent of Republicans oppose same-sex marriage laws.

Dear Marriage Supporter,

I've got exciting news! We've been told that HB437—a bill to repeal same-sex marriage—will be voted on Next Wednesday, February 1st!

Now is the time to call your legislators—especially House members—right away and ask them to VOTE YES ON HB437!

• If you know your House District, click here to see phone numbers for your representative(s).

• If you're not sure which district you live in, click here to look up your state legislators. Please use District Office phone number as members do not maintain an office in the State House.

For more than two years, we've been working towards this moment. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, a majority in both houses now supports marriage and we are optimistic about next Wednesday's vote.

But Governor Lynch has already made it crystal clear that he plans to veto the bill—meaning it will take a 2/3 majority to override his veto.

That's why it's imperative that everyone makes calls right now on behalf of marriage and HB437! And the closest battle will be in the House of Representatives.

Please make at least two phone calls right now!

Please also take the critical step of calling all your friends and family and encouraging them to do the same. Please forward this email on to them, or print this alert out and bring it with you to your church or community center! Everything you can do to encourage people to make calls helps the cause!

A personal phone call from a constituent is, after all, one of the most powerful and effective ways of contacting elected officials, especially New Hampshire state house members who answer their own phones.

Please take a moment to make a few phone calls right away, and plan on making a few calls later as well as we approach the vote next Wednesday. Tell them it's time for them to follow through with the mandate voters gave them in 2010 and repeal same-sex marriage. Time is short! The vote is next Wednesday!

In addition to your phone calls, with just a few clicks of the mouse—and a couple of minutes of your time—you can also send an email to each of the state senators and representatives from your district, giving your legislators a written record of your support for marriage.

Click here to send your email now!

HB437 is a compromise bill—but it's a compromise that respects and restores the definition of marriage, while also allowing existing same-sex marriages to remain intact and providing benefits through civil unions.

Every vote counts, so please contact your legislators right away. I'll be sure to keep you up to date as things continue to develop. And please join me in praying and working for good news come next Wednesday!

Faithfully,

The National Organization for Marriage has pledged to spend $250,000 to help elect New Hampshire lawmakers who support repealing the state’s gay marriage law.

The organization said Friday it will work to hold accountable lawmakers who oppose the repeal.

The Union-Leader:

After playing a big role in the 2010 elections, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) said Friday it intends to spend $250,000 in New Hampshire legislative races to help legislators who support repeal of the state's same-sex marriage law.

The bill (House Bill 437) is expected to be up for a vote in February.

NOM president Brian Brown said that “61 percent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters support a legislative definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman alongside of a provision for civil unions. We intend to hold every legislator accountable for his or her vote on marriage. Those who support HB 437 will be rewarded, while those who don't will suffer the consequences in the next election.”

... NOM says it helped mount successful legislative election efforts on the same-sex marriage issue in Minnesota, Maine, California, New York and New Hampshire.

The group contends it is “particularly effective at ending the careers of Republican officials who abandon marriage. For example, the group aired ads critical of Republican candidate Bill Binnie's position on same-sex marriage that resulted in his defeat in the GOP US Senate primary campaign in 2010.”

Now is our moment!

For more than two years, we've been working and waiting for an opportunity to repeal same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. News reports now indicate that the vote will take place in February.

Thanks to your efforts, and those of many others, a majority in both houses now supports marriage and is expected to vote YES on House Bill 437 to repeal same-sex marriage.

Unfortunately, Governor Lynch—once a defender of marriage—has now become an unbending advocate of same-sex marriage and is expected to veto the repeal bill.

Now is the time that we need to be talking to legislators, letting them know how strongly their constituents feel about marriage.

Click here to look up phone numbers for your state senator and representatives.
(NOTE: Please use the district office phone number wherever one is listed, as members do not maintain individual offices in the Capitol.)

A personal phone call from a constituent is one of the most powerful and effective means of contacting elected officials, especially state house members who answer their own phones. Please take a moment to make a few phone calls today. Tell them it's time to follow through with the mandate voters gave them in 2010 and repeal same-sex marriage.

You can also contact your state senator and representatives by email using NOM's online advocacy system. In 5 minutes or less, you can send a personalized message to your elected officials. Click here to send your email now.

HB437 is a compromise bill—but it's a compromise that respects and restores the definition of marriage, while also allowing existing same-sex marriages to remain intact and providing benefits through civil unions.

Every vote counts, so please contact your legislators right away. I'll be sure to keep you up to date as things continue to develop.

Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Anath Hartmann at (703-683-5004)

"We intend to hold every legislator accountable for his or her vote on marriage. Those who support HB 437 will be rewarded, while those who don’t will suffer the consequences.”
—Brian Brown, NOM's President—

Concord, NH — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's leading pro-marriage organization, today announced that it will spend $250,000 in legislative races to help legislators who support HB 437 restoring traditional marriage and hold accountable anyone who opposes the Same-Sex Marriage Repeal Bill. The Bill, HB 437, will be up for a vote in the next few weeks.

“Sixty-one percent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters support a legislative definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman alongside of a provision for civil unions,” stated Brian Brown, NOM's president. "We intend to hold every legislator accountable for his or her vote on marriage. Those who support HB 437 will be rewarded, while those who don’t will suffer the consequences in the next election.”

HB 437 is compromise legislation that restores the traditional definition of marriage which predates the New Hampshire Constitution, while allowing existing same-sex marriages to remain intact, and grants rights and benefits through civil unions. HB 437 is a balanced bill and is the most common sense approach in New Hampshire.

NOM has helped mount successful legislative election efforts on the same-sex marriage issue in places like Minnesota, Maine, California, New York and New Hampshire. The group is particularly effective at ending the careers of Republican officials who abandon marriage. For example, the group aired ads critical of Republican candidate Bill Binnie’s position on same-sex marriage that resulted in his defeat in the GOP US Senate primary campaign in 2010.

"In 2010 NOM was a significant player in New Hampshire and spent over $1 million in the last election. It’s humorous that our opponents loudly proclaim they will raise $100,000 to help legislators on their side when we have already invested over ten times that amount,” said Brown. “Aside from helping defeat Bill Binnie, we worked with grassroots organizations to help flip the state legislature after liberal democrats legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. NOM sent mailers and launched phone calls in 119 house races, and our endorsed candidates won all of them. A vote for HB 437 is a vote for traditional marriage. We will consider a vote against the legislation a vote for same-sex marriage, and we will hold legislators accountable. NOM will support those who support marriage and will work with local New Hampshire organizations to recruit pro-traditional marriage candidates to run against those who vote against HB 437 and fund them.”

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, eray@crcpublicrelations.com, (x130) or Anath Hartmann, ahartmann@crcpublicrelations.com, (x105) at 703-683-5004.

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Economist Scott Moody believes the devaluation of marriage through same-sex marriage will eventually ensure a population in New Hampshire where the shrinking, younger generation will no longer be able to support the state's economy.

"At this point, marriage no longer has any meaning," said Moody.

During a Foster's Daily Democrat editorial board meeting on Tuesday, Moody, a member of the leadership and staff team with Cornerstone Policy Research, explained this concern, among other underlying concerns, that may be solved with the passage of HB 437.

The bill currently before the New Hampshire Legislature would repeal the state's same-sex marriage law.

According to Moody, several concerns relating to children's rights and demographics have risen in the last several years. These concerns could be alleviated if the proposed bill to be discussed in February is passed.

... Moody's argument in favor of repealing same-sex marriage in the state remained relatively free of faith and morality based assertions, though he did admit those beliefs were still very much rooted within the foundation of the repealment of the same sex-marriage law in New Hampshire and across the nation.

According to Moody, there all of a sudden seems to be a cultural movement toward same-sex marriage. However, many states, some considered even more liberal than New Hampshire, have repealed the law when given the chance, most notably, he said, Maine. Moody said even in New Hampshire, the same-sex marriage law passed by one vote and was signed into law by a governor he claimed never failed to flip-flop on the issue when discussed.

Republican House leaders have delayed the vote on gay marriage, House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, R-Salem, said yesterday.

"The legislation will not be considered for a floor vote until February," Bettencourt said in an email.

"We must deal with some critical financial and economic-related legislation first, as well as legislative redistricting, prior to any discussion of gay marriage," he said. "It's critical to keep to keep legislative priorities in their proper order."

Bettencourt said in late December the House would most likely vote on the issue Jan. 11 or today.

Yesterday, Bettencourt said he was only speculating at the time and that House Speaker William O'Brien, R-Mont Vernon, controls the House calendar.

The vote on House Bill 437 was never formally scheduled, Bettencourt said.

The Dec. 28 editorial titled “Gay-marriage law assault perplexing” left me equally perplexed – and insulted.

What you characterize as an “assault” is actually a commonsense effort to finally put a much-needed check on a social activist agenda that doesn’t reflect the will of the people in New Hampshire.

Your editorial also drips with contempt for voters who last year rejected politicians who supported gay marriage when they should have been focusing on fixing our broken economy.

It may come as news to you, but voters are right to demand that their elected representatives show respect for the will of the people who elected them in the first place.

Unlike The Telegraph, I, for one, am glad to see politicians are heeding the message of 2010 and showing some backbone against liberal activists using New Hampshire to further their political and social agendas.

The White House, in response to a Blade inquiry about the possible vote to repeal same-sex marriage rights in New Hampshire, said Thursday night that President Obama “believes strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away.”

“While the president does not weigh in on every single action taken by legislative bodies in our country, the record is clear that the president has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples,” said White House spokesperson Shin Inouye. “The president believes strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away.”

The statement doesn’t explicitly express support for same-sex marriage or mention New Hampshire. At the same time, the statement doesn’t include language found in previous White House statements on marriage that states should “determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens.” Such language was included in the White House response to the North Carolina anti-gay marriage measure that will be on the ballot in May.

... The vote to repeal the marriage law in New Hampshire has become an issue in the presidential race. Both former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry spoke in favor of repeal prior to the primary there.

... But each of the candidates who have expressed support for a Federal Marriage Amendment — Perry, Romney, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum — have implicitly backed the repeal of the New Hampshire law because such a measure would prohibit same-sex marriage throughout the country.

An analysis of more than 350,000 interviews conducted by Gallup in 2008 finds Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas to be the most religious states in the nation. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts are the least religious states.

... The United States is generally a religious nation, although the degree of this religiosity varies across states and regions of the country. A robust 65% of all Americans (across the entire U.S. population) reported in 2008 that religion was important in their daily lives.

... Additionally, at least half of the residents of all but four states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts) say religion is important in their daily lives.

This hasn't stopped some groups in New England, such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation, from taking out ads in Rhode Island which read: "Keep Religion Out of Politics."

Over at Townhall, Guy Benson has defended the strength of Mitt Romney's victory in New Hampshire, and I don't think there's any disputing that it was a solid win. But I think there's one important point worth clarifying. Though overall turnout in the primary is projected to set a record, eclipsing the 2008 tally, turnout among Republican voters is on track to be down by roughly 16 percent.

The reason for the discrepancy is that because there was no competitive Democratic primary this time around (as well as several GOP candidates aggressively chasing their votes), there was a huge spike in the number of independents and Democrats who were voting in the Republican race, something Granite Staters can do in the open primary system.

When you eliminate independents and Democrats from the 2008 equation, actual registered Republicans made up 61 percent of the roughly 239,000 votes cast in the GOP primary, putting the turnout among Republicans at around 145,790. But last night, actual Republicans only comprised 49 percent of the electorate, according toexits. Even if we round up the final 2012 turnout number to 250,000, which would be slightly higher than current projections, that would only leave actual Republican turnout at 122,500, which would represent a 16 percent drop.

I was saddened to read your Dec. 28 editorial (“Gay-marriage law assault perplexing”). Rarely have I seen an editorial go so far out of its way to ignore the facts about New Hampshire’s gay-marriage law.

The notion that efforts to restore traditional marriage exist only because “conservative Republicans were emboldened by their landslide victory in 2010” completely ignores the fact that voters never asked for gay marriage in the first place.

I’d bet I’m not alone in wondering where your rant against this “distraction” and “social engineering” was when gay marriage activists and liberal legislators put gay marriage ahead of the economy in 2009?

Editorial elites at The Telegraph didn’t call the 2009 push to enact gay marriage a distraction when New Hampshire’s economy was in shambles, so why now?

"Mr. Romney has signed NOM's pledge to take specific actions as president to defend traditional marriage." —Brian Brown, NOM president—

The following statement may be attributed to Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM):

"We commend Mitt Romney on his impressive victory tonight in New Hampshire, adding to his delegate total following his victory in Iowa. Mr. Romney has signed NOM's pledge to take specific actions as president to defend traditional marriage. He has also called for the repeal of same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. Voters rewarded him and we congratulate Mr. Romney on his well-earned victory."

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), eray@crcpublicrelations.com, or Anath Hartmann, ahartmann@crcpublicrelations.com, at 703-683-5004.

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Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).