The New Hampshire House has approved a bill recognizing "spousal unions" for same-sex couples. If the measure becomes law, the Granite State would be the sixth to give gay couples state-recognized marital benefits and responsibilities, and the third to do so legislatively without a court decree forcing their hand.
IGF contributing author Dale Carpenter, blogging at The Volokh Conspiracy, ponders:
Some interesting questions to ask presidential candidates campaigning in New Hampshire and who've said they favor "civil unions," but not "marriage": Do you favor "spousal unions" for gay couples that give them all the rights and responsibilities of marriage but aren't called "marriages"?
And what if we take it the next step and called them "marital unions" but not "marriage"? This will test just what it is people think is at stake in the use of language to describe gay families.
Here's the AP on Where states stand on same-sex marriage.