Large Majority Support New Hampshire's Gay Marriage Law

A large majority of adults support New Hampshire's one-year-old law that allows gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Sixty-two percent of respondents to a WMUR Granite State Poll oppose repeal of the law approved by lawmakers in 2009.

The law, now in its second year as of January 1, made New Hampshire the fifth state to approve the institution.

Twenty-nine percent of New Hampshire adults support repeal of the law, according to the survey.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said they “strongly oppose” repeal, while 24 percent strongly support repeal.

“Strong opponents of repealing same-sex marriage outnumber strong proponents by a factor of two to one,” said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

“Politically, this represents powerful resistance to changing the current law,” he added.

Republicans in the state gained veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the Legislature on November 2, putting the law in jeopardy.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of gay marriage, has vowed to attempt to repeal the legislation. Rep. David Bates, a Republican from Windham, is behind the effort in the House.