Same-sex marriage in New Hampshire has been legal since January 1, 2010, based on legislation signed into law by Governor John Lynch on June 3, 2009. The law provided that civil unions, which the state had established on January 1, 2008, would be converted to marriages on January 1, 2011, unless dissolved, annulled, or converted to marriage before that date. New Hampshire became the fifth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, and the fourth in New England.