New Hampshire bans identity discrimination

Residents of New Hampshire gather on the streets of downtown to celebrate the Portsmouth Pride Parade. Photo by Sebastian Dooris.

New Hampshire signed two pieces of legislation in late 2018 that protects the LGBT community from discrimination in the midst of Pride celebrations. 

19 years ago, the month of June was declared Gay and Lesbian Pride Month by then-president Bill Clinton. Nine years later, Obama took a second step in naming the month of June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, according to the USDA.

The month was picked to honor the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan in 1969.

“That event is often considered the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement,” the Boston Globe wrote.

A student from Massachusetts said there were no Pride parades close to her home, but they celebrate Pride by “everyone accepting each other,” she said. 

In New Hampshire, HB 1319 was signed into law in 2018, which does not allow discrimination based on gender identity. 

In the same time period, HB 587 was passed in New Hampshire to ban youth conversion therapy, which is a “dangerous and debunked practice,” according to the Human Rights Campaign.

In 2010, to look at the number of same-sex couples per 1,000 houses in New Hampshire. According to the USDA, Cheshire Country had the most same-sex couples in its area, with Merrimack and Rockingham counties coming in second place. 

“We can treat everyone the same regardless of what makes us different,” retired D.C. resident, Phoebe, said.