Gay Marriage Inches Closer in New Hampshire; Where does the Governor Stand?

  Last week in the New Hampshire house a gay marriage bill was defeated by one vote but was almost immediately brought back up for reconsideration and it passed by seven votes.

  Now the bill heads to the senate for debate where it sounds like it faces a tough challenge and may be defeated. Naturally if it passes the senate it will be headed to Governor Lynch’s desk, but where does Governor Lynch stand on the issue?

  That should be an easy question to answer but it isn’t. Governor Lynch has said that he opposes gay marriage so doesn’t that suggest that he will veto this bill? Not so fast, he hasn’t come out and said that he would veto the bill. As a matter of fact he has been elusive when he has been asked about this bill. So why is this?

  We don’t need to look any further than the last time the governor faced a controversial topic to see that there is a pattern here. Coincidentally enough it was during the civil union debate. Governor Lynch eventually signed the bill into law granting civil unions to gay couples in New Hampshire.

  It was the way he handled that issue that will show us why he remains mum on whether he will sign the gay marriage bill if it makes it to his desk. The civil unions bill was written and ready to head to the house before the 2006 election, when debating Jim Coburn and asked about the civil unions legislation and if he supported it he would only say that he is against gay marriage and that he would not answer questions on the civil unions legislation before it reached his desk. He avoided taking a stand on an issue that had New Hampshire residents split.

  After he was re-elected it was more of the same. He refused to answer whether he would sign the civil unions bill even as it was being debated in the house and then in the senate.

  Finally when the bill reached his desk he signed it, but the way he signed it showed a lack of leadership and a lack of political courage. Instead of having a big signing ceremony he did it in private. One hour before the signing he called people that he knew were for the bill and invited them to witness the signing. He did this to avoid media attention and any possible protests.

  So Governor Lynch has a history of  dodging tough questions until the last minute and then privately addressing them without scrutiny. That is why he will not tell us whether he will sign or veto a gay marriage bill.

  My guess is that he will not take a position and go on record until the bill passes the senate just in case it doesn’t pass the senate. I believe he is hoping that the bill fails in the senate, just as he probably hoped the civil unions bill would fail, so that he will not have to go on record one way or the other. The governor is hoping to avoid a tough decision. He knows that his position will upset half of the residents so he would rather leave us guessing.

  He is hedging his bets by saying that he is personally opposed to gay marriage. If he were to sign the bill he would just say that while personally I am opposed to gay marriage but I can’t let my feelings stand in the way of what is right for New Hampshire’s citizens.

  All I am asking for is just a little bit of leadership here. I just want the governor to stand up and tell us where he stands on this issue. If he does I will have more respect for him. Whether  he chooses to sign or veto the  gay marriage bill it isn’t going to change my opinion of him, he will not lose my vote because he has never had it. But if he were to stand up and declare his position that would go a long way in changing my opinion of him. It would at least show me that he can be a leader when the issue at hand is controversial. Up until now he has dodged the tough issues.

  Governor Lynch, where do you stand? Are you for or against the gay marriage bill?