HI: Civil Union Backers to Sue State for Rights

Gay-rights advocates are preparing a lawsuit alleging that the state is violating the equal protection rights of same-sex couples by not passing a civil-unions law. Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i yesterday said they would bring the lawsuit after the state House voted on Friday to indefinitely postpone action on civil unions this session.

The lawsuit will be based on a 1993 Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling which held that denying same-sex couples the ability to marry was a violation of their equal-protection rights under the state Constitution.

Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1998 that gave the state Legislature the right to define marriage — and lawmakers have defined it as between a man and a woman — so gay-rights advocates are unable to claim a right to marry.

Full Story from the Honolulu Advertiser
Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

HI: House to Decide Today Whether to Vote on Civil Unions Bill

State House Democrats will meet in private caucus this morning to decide whether to bring a civil-unions bill to a vote or whether to indefinitely postpone action this session. Private vote counts in the House last night found that barely a majority of lawmakers now support the bill, well short of the two-thirds state House Speaker Calvin Say said he wanted to show that the House could override a potential veto.

"At this point, the vote looks razor-thin close," said state House Majority Leader Blake Oshiro, D-33rd ('Aiea, Hālawa Valley, 'Aiea Heights).

The state Senate approved a civil-unions bill last Friday that would give same-sex and heterosexual couples the ability to enter into civil unions and receive the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

Full Story from the Honolulu Advertiser
Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

HI: Senate Passes Civil Unions Bill With Veto-Proof Majority

The Hawaii Senate has approved same-sex civil unions, setting up the measure for final passage. The Senate passed the bill on an 18-7 vote, moving it to the House and signaling that the Senate's Democratic majority has enough votes to override a possible veto from Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. The House has yet to decide if it will vote on the bill. House leaders say they will take up the bill if they have a veto-proof two-thirds majority but may let it die if they have only a small majority. "It's very close," said Democratic Speaker of the House Calvin Say. "During an election year, this issue is so divisive that it may hurt many of our members." Full Story from the Daily Record

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

HI: Gay Maui Wedding Planners Not Allowed to Marry

Kevin Rebelo and Frank Miholer own a wedding company, and they say they've married more than 4,000 heterosexual couples since 1994. Couples can choose a Christian, nonreligious or Hawaiian ceremony. And their marriages are celebrated in romantic island settings, with lei and photography, mostly on beaches in Wailea and Makena. But because Hawaii law does not allow marriages or civil unions of same-sex couples, Rebelo and Miholer can't marry and have their relationship legally recognized by the state. "We have been a couple for 16 years, yet we are not allowed to have the same rights as our married straight neighbors," they said in e-mail this week to The Maui News. "It is quite ironic that we are ordained and licensed to marry couples but are not allowed the same privilege for ourselves." Full Story from The Maui News

Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

HI: Civil Union Vote Friday?

It was the most dramatic vote of last year's Legislature, and it resolved nothing: The impassioned debate at the Capitol over civil unions and gay marriage is back this week. "It is my understanding that it will be put on the Order of the Day (agenda) Thursday and put it up for a vote on Friday," said Sen. Brian Taniguchi, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The bill was stalled in his committee with three committee members in favor and three against the bill, when it was yanked onto the Senate floor last year. It was high political drama because the bill to legalize civil unions between same-sex partners had already passed the House. Just 13 yes votes and the historic measure would go to Gov. Linda Lingle. But the Senate blinked, amending the bill and promising to come back and try again. That time is this session. Full Story from the Star Bulletin

Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

HI: Anti Gay Protesters Rally Ahead of Civil Unions Vote

Social conservatives in Hawaii held a large rally Sunday at the State Capitol to protest a bill that would recognize gay couples with civil unions. The bill ran aground during last year's legislative session after over 6,000 anti-gay protesters stormed the Capitol the Sunday before a key Senate committee vote. The bill deadlocked on a 3-3 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The final tally came after a grueling 18 hour marathon hearing that ended at 3AM. Six senators voted in favor of pulling the bill from committee and putting it up for a vote, but the effort fell short of the 9 votes needed to move the bill. A second effort just days before the end of the legislative session succeeded in retrieving the bill. Senators quickly amended the bill to include both gay and straight couples but the session ended without a vote on the measure. The amended bill needs the approval of both chambers of the Legislature to move to the governor's desk. Previously, the House approved the original bill on a 33 to 17 vote. Full Story from On Top Magazine

Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

HI: Legislature to Vote on Civil Unions Bill Shortly

When Hawaii legislators reconvene on Wednesday, all eyes will be focused not on teacher furloughs that resulted in the nation's shortest school year or the state's $1 billion budget deficit, but legislation that would allow same-sex couples to form civil unions. The measure would grant gay couples the rights and benefits the state provides to married couples and is among a handful of similar proposals that could pop up in several other states. At the same time, a federal judge in San Francisco is considering the constitutionality of California's same-sex marriage ban. "This bill has already been voted on, so there isn't as much convincing to do anymore," said Alan Spector of Equality Hawaii, a leading supporter of the bill. "I think (legislators) get the substance of the bill and the need for the bill." Last year, the proposal easily won preliminary passage in the Legislature, but stalled in May after opponents lobbied and held a state Capitol rally attended by several thousand protesters. Full Story from The Washington Post

Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

HI: Governor Does Not Want Legislature to Discuss Civil Unions Bill

Gov. Linda Lingle is worried that the civil union bill now awaiting action in the state Senate will be so controversial, it should be put off until 2011. "They should not continue to discuss it this year. It is certainly something they could discuss in some future years. In the middle of the biggest economic crisis in Hawaii's history, it is a most inappropriate bill to take up this year," Lingle said in a meeting with reporters yesterday. "They should just put it on the side." The Legislature reconvenes Jan. 20. Asked what she thought about the issue of civil unions or gay marriage, Lingle said: "My thought is they should not discuss it. I don't want to discuss it. I want to discuss job creation." Legislative leaders note that House Bill 444 passed the House, was amended in the Senate and is awaiting a vote before being sent back to the House. Full Story from the Star Bulletin: http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20100109_jobs_not_civil_unions_is_focus_lingle_says.html

Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Religious Conservatives Hope to Use Opposition to Civil Unions to Take Over Hawaii in 2010

Religious conservatives have scored few victories in Hawaii beyond ousting a half-dozen pro-gay marriage lawmakers and successfully pushing a constitutional amendment to reject same-sex marriages a decade ago. But Catholic and evangelical Protestant leaders hope to push Hawaii politics rightward by preparing an election-year effort in 2010 to organize their parishioners into voting blocks that can help elect like-minded candidates. And they are hoping to use the issue of same-sex civil unions to get them there. Legislators next year are expected to reconsider a proposal to allow gay and lesbian couples to form civil unions. Full Story from KITV.com: http://www.kitv.com/news/21261191/detail.html

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Hawaii.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.