While we had good news come out of New Jersey about marriage equality, another Northeastern state provides us with some idiotic legislation. New Hampshire’s House Judiciary Committee is currently considering a bill that will “allow businesses that oppose marriage equality to deny services to same-sex couples based on their ‘conscience’ or religious beliefs. It also protects them from any civil claim of action for doing so,” as reported by ThinkProgress.
The wording of the bill is apparently so generic that businesses could discriminate against any couple whose marriage doesn’t follow the beliefs of the business owners. If you’re a straight interracial couple and you happen to unknowingly seek the services of a White Supremacist, then that Neo-Nazi skin head would have the right to kick you out of his shop and you would have no legal recourse.
I can’t believe this is how politicians in New Hampshire are wasting their time. In order to protect conservative extremists’ right to hate on gays, they are willing to sanction state-wide discrimination against multiple sections of society. This is the same state whose Republican dominated politicians want to repeal marriage equality even though the citizens of the state support it.
It seems that New Hampshire needs to clean house.