Gay Marriage Legalized in New Hampshire

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the U.S. Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, right, shakes hands with Mo Baxley in the gallery of Representatives Hall in the State house after lawmakers voted in favor of gay marriage in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Is New England the new California? New Hampshire became the sixth state, the fifth in New England, to legalize gay marriage today. After months of back and forth revisions, the legislature approved it this morning following by Governor John Lynch approval this afternoon when he signed it into law.

Other states that have already legalized gay marriage include Maine, Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut and Vermont.

After gay marriage was struck down by Prop 8 (and last week upheld by the state's Supreme Court), a draft proposition is already in the works to undue the prop on a future election ballot and a federal Supreme Court challenge is being talked about. Next door, Nevada legalized domestic partnerships on Sunday night, a big step for that state.