Breaking: Hawaii same sex civil unions

BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
edited February 2009 in Strut Central
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090223/NEWS01/902230348http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090223/BREAKING01/90223039
The proposed bill would give same-sex partners who enter into civil unions the same rights, benefits and responsibilities under state law as married couples. It would also recognize civil unions, domestic partnerships and same-sex marriages performed in other states as civil unions in Hawaii.In 1998, nearly 70 percent of Hawaii voters approved a constitutional amendment granting the state Legislature the power to reserve marriage for opposite-sex couples. The "defense of marriage" amendment resulted in a law banning gay marriage in Hawaii but leaving the door open for civil unions.The amendment negated a 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that found refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples was discriminatory.Since 1998, the Legislature has considered civil unions several times, most recently in 2007, but the bills never made it out of their committees.

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