N.H. legislature approves gay marriage

The New Hampshire legislature has passed a bill legalizing gay marriage in the state.

By a 13-11 vote, the State Senate joined the House in approving gay marriage after adding an amendment to ban polygamy and marriage between family members.

Gov. John Lynch (D), who personally opposes gay marriage, has not indicated whether he will veto the bill, sign it, or allow it to become law without his signature.

The amendment swung the vote of Sen. Deborah Reynolds (D), whose support helped the bill pass out of the Senate Judiciary Commitee by a 3-2 vote.

The compromise was “respectable to both sides of the debate and meets our shared goals of equality under the state laws for all of the people of New Hampshire,” Reynolds said, according to the NY Times.

New Hampshire already has civil unions for same-sex couples, but if the bill becomes law, the state would become the third this month–along with Iowa and Vermont–to legalize gay marriage.