The state Legislature in New Hampshire passed a gay rights law in 1998, after debating whether the protection was really needed.

A secondary concern at the time: whether approving the law would be construed as an approval of gay lifestyles, said Katharine Daly, executive director of the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights.

Lawmakers eventually compromised, making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. But the clause was included as a sort of addendum to the Human Rights Act, instead of listing it prominently alongside sex, race and ethnicity.

Since the New Hampshire law passed, discrimination complaints from gays have been few. Of 282 complaints filed with her commission in 2004, only four were related to sexual-orientation discrimination. In 2005, grievances in that category comprised only seven of 299 filed complaints.

Some people call with questions but don’t want to step forward, Daly said. “It’s a slow process of people coming to trust the law.”

Other New England states, and the dates their gay rights laws went on the books:

Massachusetts: 1989

Connecticut: 1991

Rhode Island: 1995

Vermont: 1992

– By Kathryn Skelton

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