NEW HAMPSHIRE: Battle Begins Over Attempt To Repeal Same-Sex Marriage

A coalition of outside groups including NOM, the Family Research Council, and Focus On The Family are preparing to launch their campaign to repeal same-sex marriage in the New Hampshire legislature. With the GOP taking new majorities in both chambers, a repeal is expected to pass easily. But getting to the super-majority needed to override the governor's expected veto may not come so easily.

The magic numbers are 266 and 16 — two-thirds of the House and Senate, respectively — the number of votes needed to override what is expected to be Gov. John Lynch's veto of any repeal bill. That's assuming all 400 House and 24 Senate members are in attendance when the vote is taken. It's going to take patience, as well, because the House and Senate leadership have made it very clear that their first priority is getting the state's fiscal house in order. Still, both sides are expecting that before the session is over next spring, the effort to repeal the law will come before the General Court for a vote.

Currently, there are several "legislative service requests," essentially placeholders for bills that will be filed when the legislative session begins in January. The language is similar, seeking to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Rep. Leo Pepino, R-Manchester, already has four other co-sponsors to his LSR and he's convinced that the law will be repealed this session. At 298 House Republicans, "I think we have more than we need to override a veto," he said. Pepino is a Catholic who said he feels strongly about the issue. "When I was a kid, we were all led to believe that the first couple was Adam and Eve, not two Adams and two Eves. To me, it's not normal" for gays and lesbians to marry.

NOM's Brian Brown says his group is "poised to start taking back territory where (gay marriage) was wrongly enacted in places like New Hampshire and Iowa. That will be the next battleground, and we are confident of victory."