New Hampshire Family Law Blog : New Hampshire Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Crusco Law Firm : Family Law, Custody, Child Support : Manchester, New Hampshire, Massachusetts

Yesterday Maine voters repealed the state’s same-sex marriage law, six months after the law was passed by the legislature. In doing so, Maine became the thirty first state to oppose same-sex unions in a popular vote. Five states, Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont are performing same-sex marriages, with the District of Columbia and New York recognizing the marriages but not performing them. New Jersey and California allow for civil unions.

Question 1, brought forward pursuant to the “people’s veto” process in Maine’s constitution, asked voters “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?" 53% of voters approved Question 1, about the same margin of victory as California’s Prop 8. Maine’s same-sex marriage law was put on hold after the proponents of Question 1 collected the required signatures to put the question to a popular vote.

What does this mean for Maine residents? Same-sex partners are still vulnerable without the financial and legal protections that a civil union or marriage offers. Maine’s same-sex couples must be very detailed in their estate planning, partnership agreements, and legal status as parents of any children of the relationship. Additionally, Maine residents must carefully consider the ramifications of seeking a civil union or marriage in other states. Although New Hampshire and Massachusetts are just quick drives across the Piscataqua River, entering into a legal relationship that cannot be dissolved in your own state can have very dire consequences.

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Although the country’s attention was, for the most part, focused upon the presidential election on November 4^th, there were several ballot questions across the country regarding same-sex marriage. The most high profile was Proposition 8 in California, a ballot measure that passed and  amended the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. The passage of Prop 8 reverses In Re Marriage Cases, the California Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in the state this past June. Arizona and Florida also passed similar measures on November 4th, defining marriage as between one man and one woman with Prop 102 and Prop 2 respectively.

The election results highlight the vast divide throughout the country over same-sex marriage, with over twenty five states now banning same-sex marriage, two states allowing same-sex marriage and several states, including New Hampshire, allowing some form of civil union or domestic partnership. Additionally on a national level, the Federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as it pertains to any Act of Congress or administrative rulings and regulations as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word `spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” With the wide disparity of laws from state to state, the inconsistency can leave families in legal limbo without a way to dissolve a legal relationship.

New Hampshire residents, thanks to the civil union statute, will not be left in legal limbo. If you have been married in another jurisdiction, or entered into a civil union, you may dissolve the relationship as though it were a civil union in New Hampshire.

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