Bates's bill lists the marriages that would be prohibited to all men and women. Besides same-sex partners, they include marriages to their children, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

The bill states that any marriage recognized by New Hampshire before the adoption of the law would remain intact. But any same-sex marriage performed out of state after the law is passed - for example, a marriage performed in Massachusetts - would not be recognized as valid in New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition criticized Bates for focusing on gay marriage instead of the economy. "Rep. Bates has planted himself firmly, and proudly, on the fringes of American life," Mo Baxley, executive director of New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, said in a statement. "His need to divorce committed couples and to prevent other couples from getting married is strange. So much for family values."