NOM Launches Campaign Against NH GOP Leader For Slowing Marriage Repeal

Earlier this month New Hampshire House GOP leader D.J. Bettencourt announced that his chamber had more important items on its agenda than to bother with repealing same-sex marriage. Right on cue, NOM is now attacking him as "an enemy of the family."

Bettencourt said the National Organization for Marriage sent a direct mailer to his district in Salem saying he doesn't support traditional family values. He said the mailer was the result of his announcement last week that the House Republican agenda did not include repealing gay marriage. Bettencourt said the incident shows how controversial the issue is and reinforces his belief the House should focus on fiscal issues this year. In a letter to House Speaker William O'Brien, Bettencourt said the organization and its supporters in New Hampshire know the repeal bill will be acted upon because legislative rules require floor votes on bills. "This assault on our agenda has the potential to take important focus and energy away from our focus on the budget," Bettencourt wrote O'Brien. "Therefore, it is my belief that the same sex marriage repeal must be retained in the Judiciary Committee this year so that our full and undivided attention is focused on New Hampshire's outstanding financial issues."

As noted above, the New Hampshire House will be forced under its own rules to eventually vote on the repeal bill. But unless Bettencourt surrenders to the attack from NOM, it won't happen this year.