Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman has published an op-ed in New Hampshire's Union Leader saying that he is in the state this week lobbying legislators to reject a bill that would repeal the state's marriage equality law, and that the state's motto 'Live Free or Die' applies to marriage equality.
Allowing New Hampshire citizens to marry
the person they love isn’t just consistent with maximizing freedom. It
also promotes responsibility, commitment and stability; it promotes
family values. Again, our history provides a good road map: One of our
party’s finest hours was the passage of welfare reform because it
strengthened families and promoted marriage. Why would we want to take
away this right from anyone?
New Hampshire’s civil marriage law protects religious freedom. No religious institution has to perform or recognize same-sex marriages. This is important because different religious traditions have different views on this question.
But despite these differences, so many of our faiths and traditions are rooted in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would want done to you. Isn’t allowing adults to marry the person they love consistent with the Golden Rule? If you were born gay (as I was), how would you feel if your state government took away this basic civil right that is available to all of your neighbors? How would you feel if you were a young person and were told by your state that the loving and stabilizing relationship you see in your mom and dad would never be available to you?
New Hampshire’s civil marriage law protects religious freedom. No religious institution has to perform or recognize same-sex marriages. This is important because different religious traditions have different views on this question.
But despite these differences, so many of our faiths and traditions are rooted in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would want done to you. Isn’t allowing adults to marry the person they love consistent with the Golden Rule? If you were born gay (as I was), how would you feel if your state government took away this basic civil right that is available to all of your neighbors? How would you feel if you were a young person and were told by your state that the loving and stabilizing relationship you see in your mom and dad would never be available to you?
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