There’s been a fascinating development in the New Hampshire same-sex marriage effort. Gov. John Lynch has just announced that he will veto the bill redefining marriage unless legislators amend it to provide more robust protections for the religious liberty of those who understand marriage as the union of a husband and wife. Given the closeness of the vote for the bill, this threat has real teeth and should cause the legislators to go back to the drawing board. A letter (a similar one related to Connecticut is here) from legal scholars on this question to new Hampshire Senate leadership raised this issue and suggests some appropriate ways to provide the protection the governor has called for. So, while it looks like New Hampshire will get same-sex marriage at some point, the governor recognizes that marriage redefinition poses real risks for religious liberty and is willing to do something about it.