Today, the New Hampshire Senate voted to add "sexual orientation" to the Granite State's civil rights laws by a vote of 13-9. The House had already approved the measure on a vote of 205-125. The measure now goes to Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who is expected to sign the measure. Once signed into law, New Hampshire will become the 10th state to enact such legislation. The bill would simply add the phrase "sexual orientation" to the state's existing civil rights laws. This would make it illegal to discriminate in employment, housing and public accomodations based on sexual orientation. Current law already exempts small businesses, people who rent out a small number of housing units, religious organizations and nonprofit organizations. New Hampshire's civil rights laws allow up to 180 days for a complaint to be filed with the state's Human Rights Commission. All complaints go through the commission, not the court system. The bill was first introduced in 1994 where it passed the House by 95 votes, but failed in the Senate by 3 votes. In 1996, the bill was reintroduced, but was sent to study by the House and was not voted upon. This year, the bill has been endorsed by over 50 churches including the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester, the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, and many other churches and religious leaders including Unitarian-Universalist, Church of Christ, Baptist churches, Jewish synagogues and the American Friends Service Committee. The bill has also been supported by NH NOW, the NH Women's Lobby, the AFL-CIO, NEA, the State Employees Association, NGLTF, HRC, PFLAG and many many other organizations. The gay, lesbian and bisexual community of New Hampshire is especially proud and thankful for all of the hard work that so many people have put into making this happen. Passing this type of legislation in a rural, conservative state like New Hampshire has been a mammoth undertaking. The very large number of calls and letters being received by the Senators have run 100-to-1 in our favor, causing even some of the most conservative legislators who had opposed the bill in the past to reconsider their opposition. We also look forward to the passage of Maine's civil rights bill very soon. Best of luck in becoming the 11th state! ;)