Via Granite Grok:

This past Monday night, Cornerstone Actionheld a lecture at St. Anselm College’s Institute of Politics that featured Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute. The title of her talk was “Making the case for Traditional Marriage for New Hampshire“. A crowd of about 150 people filled just about every seat in the auditorium and she gave them their money’s worth with a long and idea filled discussion of the benefits to traditional marriage vs [gay] marriage.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Sam Favate at the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog:

There’s been a flurry of activity on same-sex marriage lately, with Washington becoming the seventh state permitting it, the New Jersey legislature approving it despite a veto threat from the governor, the Ninth Circuit ruling the California same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, and Maryland poised this week to be the eighth state to make it legal.

Now, some lawmakers in New Hampshire want to be the first in the nation to go the other way. A bill to repeal the state’s same-sex marriage law appears to have a chance at passing both houses of the state legislature, the New York Times reported. Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, has promised to veto such a bill, but Republicans have veto-proof majorities in the New Hampshire House and Senate. If the repeal overcame a veto, it would mark the first time a legislature overturned a same-sex marriage law.

The bill, which can be seen here, would define marriage as “the legally recognized union of one man and one woman.”

... A vote in the N.H. House would have to happen by March 29, which is when legislation must be sent to the state Senate. Rep. David Bates, who introduced the bill last year after Republicans took control of the legislature, said the bill would be changed to make more members happy with it.

In the New Hampshire Union Leader:

...NOM President Brian Brown said New Hampshire is in the spotlight.

“I think the Legislature has a chance to right the tremendous wrong of forcing this thing through a few years ago,” Brown said.

Asked what the $250,000 will be used for, Brown said: “We'll expose those candidates who decided to undermine marriage.”

Plans include running independent TV ads as well as donating directly to legislators' campaigns this year.

“There are limits on what we can do with direct contributions, whereas with independent expenditures or issue ads, we can spend unlimited funds,” Brown said.

In 2010, NOM spent more than $1 million, including running ads critical of Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Binnie.

NOM expects to spend about $15 million nationally this year, backed by donations from 60,000 supporters.

“We're a national group, but we've got thousands of supporters in New Hampshire, and we work hand in hand in New Hampshire,” Brown said.

The Nashua Telegraph:

...Mike Dennehy, the New Hampshire lobbyist for the National Organization for Marriage, delivered an anti-same-sex-marriage treatise to Republican State Chairman Wayne MacDonald last week.

Dennehy is a senior GOP strategist who helped build John McCain’s New Hampshire presidential primary victories in 2000 and 2008.

“The 2012 elections provide plenty of opportunities but many pitfalls, as well,’’ Dennehy said in a memo obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.

“In the 20 years I’ve been running campaigns at every level, I can tell you that this year, more than any other, will hinge on the party who best motivates their base and gets them to the polls on Election Day.

“We have one issue this year that will motivate social and cultural conservatives to go to the polls for Republican candidates – traditional marriage.’’
Kellyanne Conway, of The Polling Co., did a survey late last fall that found 71 percent of Republicans oppose same-sex marriage laws.

The Associated Press:

The National Organization for Marriage has pledged to spend $250,000 to help elect New Hampshire lawmakers who support repealing the state’s gay marriage law.

The organization said Friday it will work to hold accountable lawmakers who oppose the repeal.

The Union-Leader:

After playing a big role in the 2010 elections, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) said Friday it intends to spend $250,000 in New Hampshire legislative races to help legislators who support repeal of the state's same-sex marriage law.

The bill (House Bill 437) is expected to be up for a vote in February.

NOM president Brian Brown said that “61 percent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters support a legislative definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman alongside of a provision for civil unions. We intend to hold every legislator accountable for his or her vote on marriage. Those who support HB 437 will be rewarded, while those who don't will suffer the consequences in the next election.”

... NOM says it helped mount successful legislative election efforts on the same-sex marriage issue in Minnesota, Maine, California, New York and New Hampshire.

The group contends it is “particularly effective at ending the careers of Republican officials who abandon marriage. For example, the group aired ads critical of Republican candidate Bill Binnie's position on same-sex marriage that resulted in his defeat in the GOP US Senate primary campaign in 2010.”