US state legalises gay marriage

New Hampshire became the sixth US state to legalise gay marriage after Governor John Lynch signed the measure into law, even though he says he personally opposes the practice.

After rallies outside the Statehouse by both opponents and backers of the law in the morning, the last of three bills in the package went to the Senate, which approved it 14-10.

Cheers from the gallery greeted the key vote in the House of Representatives, which passed it 198-176. Surrounded by gay marriage supporters, Mr Lynch signed the bill about an hour later.

“Today, we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities – and respect - under New Hampshire law,” Mr Lynch said.

Mr Lynch, a Democrat, had promised a veto if the law didn’t clearly spell out that churches and religious groups would not be forced to officiate at gay marriages or provide other services. Politicians made the changes.

Mr Lynch said it is now time for the federal government to extend full equal rights to same-sex couples. Federal law does not recognise same-sex marriages.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa already allow gay marriage, though opponents hope to overturn Maine’s law with a public vote.

California briefly allowed gay marriage before a public vote banned it; a court ruling allowed couples who were already married to remain so.

The New Hampshire law will take effect on January 1, exactly two years after the state began recognising civil unions.

The Rt Rev. V. Gene Robinson, elected in New Hampshire in 2003 as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, was among those celebrating the new law.

“It’s about being recognised as whole people and whole citizens,” Mr Robinson said.

“There are a lot of people standing here who when we grew up could not have imagined this,” he said. “You can’t imagine something that is simply impossible. It’s happened, in our lifetimes.”