CARNAL NATION

New Hampshire became the sixth state to make same-sex marriage legal today. Governor John Lynch signed the bill into law at about 5:20 pm, saying that "Today we're standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear they will receive the same rights, responsibilities and respect under New Hampshire law." This is the second time that the bill legalizing marriage has come to his desk. When the legislature sent it to him in May, Lynch sent the bill back, asking for clearer language specifying that religious groups would not be forced to perform same-sex marriages in contradiction to their beliefs. Kevin Smith, the executive director of Cornerstone Policy Research, a group that opposes same-sex marriage, wasn't surprised when the final version of the bill made it past the legislature. "After all," he said, "when you take 12 votes on five iterations of the same issue, you're bound to get it passed sooner or later." Smith also said that he hopes that the law will be repealed.