Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of New Hampshire enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT residents, with most advances in LGBT rights occurring in the state within the past two decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in New Hampshire, and the state began offering same-sex couples the option of forming a civil union on January 1, 2008. Civil unions offered most of the same protections as marriages with respect to state law, but not the federal benefits of marriage. Same-sex marriage in New Hampshire has been legally allowed since January 1, 2010, and one year later New Hampshire's civil unions expired, with all such unions converted to marriages. New Hampshire law has also protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1998 and gender identity since 2018. Additionally, a conversion therapy ban on minors became effective in the state in January 2019. Effective from January 1, 2024, the archaic common-law "gay panic defence" will formally be abolished - by legislation implemented within August 2023.
New Hampshire is regarded as one of the most LGBT-friendly states in the country, with recent polls finding that an overwhelming majority of New Hampshire residents support same-sex marriage and LGBT rights.
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Legislation against sodomy was repealed in June 1975 along with other reforms. The age of consent in New Hampshire is set at 16, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. The age of consent is 18 for relationships in which one party is under the care, guardianship or authority of the other. A 2003 New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling in Blanchflower v. Blanchflower found that adultery could not take place between two females.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Same-sex marriage in New Hampshire has been legal since January 1, 2010. Civil unions had previously been recognized.
Civil unions
Civil unions were only available to same-sex couples in New Hampshire. On April 4, 2007, the New Hampshire House with a vote of 243 to 129 passed a civil unions bill which would imbue partners in same-sex civil unions with the same "rights, responsibilities and obligations" as heterosexual couples in marriages. On April 26, 2007, the New Hampshire Senate approved the civil unions bill 14-10 along political party lines.
Governor John Lynch, who opposed same-sex marriage but indicated that he was receptive to discussing civil unions as a means of granting certain rights to same-sex couples, signed the bill into law on May 31, 2007, making New Hampshire "... the first state to embrace same-sex unions without a court order or the threat of one." The law took effect on January 1, 2008.
By mid-May 2008, over 300 same-sex couples had formed a New Hampshire civil union.
Same-sex marriage
Since January 1, 2010, New Hampshire has allowed same-sex couples to marry. The law previously set age minimums for participants in same-sex marriages different from those in opposite-sex marriage:
In May 2018, the New Hampshire General Court passed a bill to implement a clear minimum age of 16 with no exceptions. Originally, the bill had a minimum age of 18 for all couples, but it was reduced to 16 in committee. On June 18, 2018, Governor Chris Sununu signed the bill into law. The law went into effect on January 1, 2019.
Adultery ruling
In April 2021, the New Hampshire Supreme Court made a ruling to recognise same-sex adultery - because of a 2009 law that recognises same-sex marriage. This reversed a previous adultery ruling.
Adoption and family planning
New Hampshire law allows a person, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, to adopt. A law banning adoptions by gays and lesbians was repealed in 1999, allowing all single persons to adopt.
In 1987, a ruling by New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice David Souter stated that adoption laws are designed to give children one home "that is unified and stable." Judicial interpretations of this ruling and state laws initially varied from county to county, with some judges requiring adopting couples to be married. This resulted in inconsistency in the ability of same-sex couples, who could not legally marry, to adopt jointly. Once same-sex relationships obtained legal recognition in the state, all of New Hampshire's ten counties began allowing adoption by same-sex couples on the same terms as for opposite-sex couples.