Gay marriage is on hold in New Hampshire.
Gov. John Lynch demanded changes to legislation that would have made the state the sixth to allow gay marriage before he would sign it, but those changes failed by two votes in the House last week. It’s now up to the Senate to negotiate a compromise.
Lynch said he would sign gay marriage only if the legislation better protected churches and their employees against lawsuits if their beliefs preclude them from marrying gays.
Senate Democratic Leader Maggie Hassan said she had heard of no legal challenges filed by gays over businesses refusing to provide services for their civil unions in the 17 months civil unions have been legal in New Hampshire.
“Same-sex couples do not seek out businesses who don’t want to do business with them,” said Hassan.
Four New England states — Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont — recognize same-sex marriage. Iowa is the other state that has legalized gay marriage.
