Hawaii Gov. Signs Civil Unions Bill

By Advocate.com Editors
Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie signed legislation Wednesday afternoon legalizing civil unions in the Aloha state.

The state senate passed the bill last week by an 18-5 vote. A similar bill was approved by the legislature in 2010 but vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle after a long waiting period.

"This signing today of this measure says to all in the world that all are welcome – that everyone is a brother and a sister in paradise," Abercrombie said at the bill's signing.

"For me, this bill represents equal rights for everyone in Hawaii and everyone who comes here. This is for me the essence of the aloha spirit."

The governor spent about 10 minutes speaking before signing the bill, joking around with people in the audience and making clear this is an important bill for him.

"With its signing, I wanted to say, 'Welcome to the world. Welcome to paradise.'"

Civil unions aren't expected to go into effect until January 1, 2012.

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Hawaii Same-Sex Civil Unions Bill Approved By State Legislature

HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, marking an end to what the governor called an "emotional process" for a longtime battleground in the gay rights movement.

Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie's office said he intends to sign the bill into law within 10 business days. Civil unions would begin Jan. 1, 2012, making the state the seventh in the nation to grant essentially the same rights of marriage to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself.  Read more here...

Hawaii Senate Postpones Civil Unions Vote

By Advocate.com Editors

The Hawaii senate is scheduled to vote on a bill that would give same-sex couples long-awaited rights to civil unions, more than 12 years after voters approved an amendment giving the legislature power to ban marriage equality in the state.

Update: According to the state senate communications office, the civil unions bill vote has been postponed to Wednesday "to give senators more time to consider the bill."  Read more here.....

Hawaii civil unions bill clears House Judiciary Committee

HONOLULU — Hawaii moved another step closer to granting civil unions for same-sex couples.

The bill would allow same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter into civil unions and receive the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports:

With the necessary votes in both chambers and a new Democratic governor who has voiced support for civil unions, lawmakers have moved swiftly to take advantage of the consensus so they can move on to other, less polarizing matters this session.
 

Lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee heard nearly five hours of testimony in the state Capitol auditorium yesterday as supporters and opponents raised familiar arguments for and against the measure.

Last month, the state Senate passed the civil unions bill by a vote of 19-6.

But because of amendments attached in the House at the recommendation of the state Attorney General’s Office, the bill will go back to the Senate once passed in the full House before making its way to the Governor for his signature.

The amendments to the bill were added to ensure that the relationships are recognized in the tax code and are under the jurisdiction of family court.

Hawaii’s new Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie has promised to sign the civil unions legislation if approved, calling it a simple issue of civil rights.

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UPDATE: Statewide Efforts to Achieve Relationship Recognition

by Justin Ward

GLAAD Media Field Strategists Adam Bass, Daryl Hannah and Justin Ward contributed to this report.

In Friday’s edition of The New York Times, writer Charlie Savage examines the pending legal challenges to the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” and whether these cases may force President Obama to “take a clear stand on politically explosive questions like whether gay men and lesbians have been unfairly stigmatized” because of the congressional act.  But while there has been little movement on the national stage, states are vigorously taking up the issue of marriage equality.

Colorado

Earlier this month, Colorado Sen. Pat Steadman reassured civil union supporters that he would be introducing legislation during this legislative session.  This past Sunday, nearly 100 supporters of civil unions gathered at the First Unitarian Society of Denver with signs that read “Love is Love.”

“This is something that I think is overdue, something that will protect families and will make our laws a little bit more fair, and a little bit more inclusive so that everyone has the same opportunity to have economic security and stability in their family relationship,” the senator said.

GLAAD worked on the ground with One Colorado to media train 107 individuals and campaign spokespersons to talk about love and commitment.

Hawaii

Last year the Hawaii state legislature approved civil unions, only to see the bill vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle (R).  Neil Abercrombie (D) was elected governor in 2010 and has expressed support for civil union legislation.  The legislature has fast-tracked a bill that is nearly identical to the civil union bill passed last year, and it sailed through the Senate by a 19-6 vote in the first days of the legislative session.  The House is likely to pass the bill in the coming days, and the governor is expected to sign it shortly thereafter.

Illinois

On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the historic legislation legalizing civil unions in Illinois and granting hundreds of  gay and lesbian couples  legal recognition from the state. Upon signage, gay and lesbian couples will be able to make medical decisions for ailing partners as well as inherit a deceased partner’s property rights.

When the bill cleared both the state’s House (61-52) and Senate (32-24) last month, Gov. Quinn told the Associated Press: “I think they [businesses and convention organizers] look for a state that is a welcoming, accepting, hospitable place and that’s what we are in Illinois.  We have everybody in and nobody left out.”

Last March, GLAAD, in partnership with Chicago’s Center on Halstead, conducted a media spokesperson training for over 70 LGBT and allied leaders.

Maryland

A Feb. 8 date has been set for the Maryland marriage equality bill hearing.  The bill, which would remove a provision in Maryland law limiting marriage to relationships between a man and a woman, is “one of the highest profile issues before the Maryland General Assembly,” according to The Washington Post.

New Hampshire

In a press release Friday, the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition announced that Rep. David Bates (R-Windham) has introduced a bill that would repeal the state’s one-year-old marriage equality law.  Bates’ introduction of the bill comes despite bicameral support for creating jobs, not repealing marriage equality.  Several of Bates’ colleagues in the legislature have said that a repeal of marriage equality isn’t on this year’s agenda.  Ultimately the House Judiciary Committee must make that decision.  Since marriage equality became the law of the land in New Hampshire in January 2010, nearly 900 committed gay and lesbian couples have legally married in the state.

New Mexico

State Representative David Chavez has introduced two pieces of legislation that would both seek to restrict marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.  The first piece of legislation would change a state law that allows out-of-state marriages to be recognized and would exclude gay and lesbian couples from such recognition.  The second piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Chavez would propose to voters a constitutional amendment to prohibit marriage equality for same-sex couples.  Both pieces of legislation are likely to be heard in the State House in the coming weeks.

Rhode Island

The House Judiciary Committee will hear arguments on marriage equality this Wednesday, Feb. 2, according to The Providence Journal.  With support from openly gay House Speaker Gordon Fox, a co-sponsor of this year’s marriage equality legislation, as well as new Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who called for marriage equality during his inaugural address, many observers contend that marriage equality stands its best chance for passage this year.  But there are a few challenges ahead.  Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed has announced she will not support the bill.

As described in the agenda for Wednesday’s hearing, the proposed legislation would “broaden the definition of persons eligible to marry to include persons of the same gender.”  The bill also stipulates that clergy would not be required to perform any particular marriage ceremony.

In November, GLAAD worked on the ground with Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) to train staff, board members, volunteers and couples on how to talk about love and commitment in the media.

Wyoming

The Wyoming legislature is faced with a series of bills to consider, all dealing with how to recognize gay and lesbian couples in the state.  The state House narrowly passed a measure that would prohibit the recognition of out-of-state marriages and sent the measure to the Senate for consideration.  The state Senate passed a constitutional amendment prohibiting recognition of all marriages of gay and lesbian couples, but the amendment still faces a vote in the House of Representatives, before being sent to voters for ratification.  Additionally, a bill that would recognize marriage equality was introduced, though it was tabled without a vote.

A measure to recognize civil unions was narrowly defeated in the House Judiciary Committee, despite having bipartisan support.  Several legislators expressed interest in reconsidering the idea of civil unions if the bill was less cumbersome.  “When you love someone, you want to settle down together,” State Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R- Cheyenne) said.  “You want to have a life with them.  You want to go into that duty and obligation you have for another human being to care for them in sickness and health.  Civil unions provide that duty and obligation for them to be committed, to care for one another, and to have a life that they can build together.”

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Hawaii Senate Passes Civil Unions

By Neal Broverman

The Hawaii senate passed a civil unions bill Friday that, unlike a previous civil unions bill, will likely make its way to a supportive governor.

The bill, SB 232, passed by a 19-6 vote and is identical to HB 444, a 2010 civil unions bill passed by both Hawaii's house and senate but vetoed by then-governor Linda Lingle. Lingle, a Republican, was termed out of office in 2010, and Democrat Neil Abercrombie, a civil unions supporter, was elected in November.

“The Hawaii Senate has sent a strong message that discrimination against families headed by same-sex couples is wrong,” HRC president Joe Solmonese said in a press release. “All people of Hawaii deserve to be treated with equal dignity and respect under the law, and no child should ever have to grow up feeling that their family is somehow less than that of their friends and neighbors.”

The state house will likely take up the civil unions issue next week.

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Hawaii: Civil Unions Pass First Hurdle

By Advocate.com Editors

Hawaii's senate judiciary committee has decided to advance a proposed civil unions bill to a full senate vote.

The committee approved the bill 3-2 Tuesday, according to KHON News.

Democratic lawmakers said they want to address the civil unions bill early in the term, to allow them time to concentrate on looming economic problems and creating jobs. Gov. Neil Abercrombie has said that he would sign the civil union bills if it reached his desk. The legislation is identical to the bill that then-governor Linda Lingle vetoed last July.

“I am vetoing this bill because I have become convinced that this issue is of such significant societal importance that it deserves to be decided directly by all the people of Hawaii,” she said in her veto message.

Lingle was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.  

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Civil Union Talks Resume in Hawaii

By Michelle Garcia

Under the leadership of a new governor who supports gays and lesbians, Hawaiian lawmakers are looking to resubmit a bill to legalize civil unions after the legislature reconvenes in Honolulu next week.

Rep. Blake Oshiro (pictured), who is gay, told KITV that he wants to push the bill through early in the legislative term so that lawmakers can focus more time on "the economy, protecting jobs, finding a way to make sure that we cover the budget deficit. And so we would prefer that this not continue on through session."

There is also a possibility that new governor Neil Abercrombie will reintroduce the civil unions bill as part of a bigger legislative package.

Former governor Linda Lingle vetoed a civil unions bill last summer, after the proposed law survived a tumultuous journey in the legislature.

Oshiro said that because the federal government does not recognize same-sex relationships and because Hawaii's state taxes are based on federal tax laws, changes would need to occur to accommodate Hawaiian gay and lesbian couples who enter into civil unions.

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