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Loading ...Civil unions bill advances in Hawaii
02.06.2009 2:56pm EST
(Honolulu, Hawaii) A bill that would give same-sex couples in Hawaii all of the rights of marriage but without the name has been approved unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee and LGBT rights groups are expressing cautious optimism it will become law.
The measure would legalize civil unions with all of the benefits, protections and responsibilities of marriage. It also would recognize domestic partnerships formalized in other states where they are legal. Marriages from Massachusetts and Connecticut would be regarded as civil unions.Under the legislation, same-sex couples would have to obtain a license and then have the civil union performed by a judge, a retired judge or a member of the clergy.
In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court was the first in the country to rule that barring same-sex marriage could be a violation of the state constitutional protection of equal rights.
In 1997, the Legislature passed a domestic partner law allowing gay couples to register with the state Department of Health. It allowed couples to have rights as reciprocal beneficiaries in hospital visitations, inheritance and property, and the ability to sue for wrongful death.
But in 1998, as calls for same-sex marriage increased, nearly 70 percent of Hawaii voters passed a constitutional amendment giving the legislature the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.
The committee hearing room was packed Thursday night for a hearing on the bill. Opponents of the measure, said the bill was a veiled attempt to skirt the amendment.
“[It] attempts to circumvent the will of the people by authorizing the equivalent to same-sex marriage,” Lt. Gov. James Aiona told committee members.
But Kim Coco Iwamoto, a member of the state school board, told the committee that denying civil marriages to same-sex couples was a “a blatant injustice.”
The civil bill has the support of the Hawaii Democratic Party, the state AFL-CIO and the Hawaii Government Employees Association. Opposing it are the Hawaii Catholic Conference and the Hawaii Family Forum.
The legislation now advances to a vote next week before the full house, where 32 out of 51 members already have announced they will support the measure. It would then move on to the state Senate.
Ana,
Legislators who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time shouldn’t in such a stressful and multitasking job.
Can’t take the “heat in the kitchen and the stress of “one complex and complicated entree after another” coming your way to put together, then leave, it’s not the job for you.
Look at the list of bills any state legislature in the USA takws up, a real “smorgasbord” of all kinds of things to consider.
Job of a legislator involves “myriads” of all kinds of issues that are assigned, not just the ones that please the “Anas” of the world”.
One thing that is abundantly clear here is that A LEGISLATURE HAS NO BUSINESS TREATING ITS CITIZENS AS SECOND-CLASS TRASH just because the “Anas of the world” think that gays (who will contribute a lot of good to their society if they are not caught up in worries of health care and insurance, hospital visitation etc for themselves and their partners and much more) ought to be shoved back into their closets or to sit down and shut up.
And this Rev. is Hawaii’s Lt Governor should be never been allowed on the ballot. This country is and should be for the good of all and not just of the religious folk be run on a strictly secular basis and you can’t be both a preacher and politician same as oil and water do not, should not and cannot mix.
Especially given the extremely diverse nature of this country and (Hawaii is a melting pot of all kinds of Asian, island and mainland USA cultures) SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE IS VERY IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL in order to fairly, effectively and even-handedly run a US state or the USA as a whole.
This can never by alliwed to be a complete theocracy like the Islamic Republic of Iran as I am sure the Rev. James Aiona (A.K.A. Lt. Gov. James Aiona according to Boyd)
Same as you black people REFUSED TO SIT IN THE BACK OF THE BUS we gays refuse to do the same!! How warped of you, Ana, to not want to “sit in the back of the bus”, but then on the other hand to turn around and to insist that gays do just that! Have you learn nothing from the oppression of your own people, Ana, as you insist on the oppression, the stifling of gay people. To not want them to have a voice for them in the government of where each of us gay men and women live is an outrage.
This is the 21st century and this is not going to be “business as usual” as it was done in the 1950s or before.
All of the states are hurting with this economy. But it isn’t stopping some of the legislators here and there from at least trying to do what they can to advance and to lift up their citizenry equality-wise.
Those courageous legislators who put their jobs at risk to do the right thing, are “points of light” to me whereas the Anas of the world are trying to do the exact opposite, to “block the light of equality” from shining in.
Maybe Ana, you should get a job at “False Focus on My Family”. They could use more of your “life-withering” types there.
Boyd, Of course not all of us on Mainland have been to Hawaii. All I know about Hawaii is that has islands and palm trees and that we Americans overthrew the last reigning monarch of Hawaii. So not all of us Americans have had the “Hawaii experience”. And this is merely a news service that reports on pro or antigay events or legislation in this place and that, and I guess Hawaii got “magically sucked up” into the “vacuum cleaner” called news reporting that takes in most anything helter skelter. News is almost never a tidy and clean affair and takes in the good and bad alike. It’s not the job of a news service to please us, its job in this case is to report GLBT news anywhere and anytime it occurs. And not everyone see things through the same lens as any particular one person even if he or she lives in the area being reported on. Not everyone do the reporting is able to live in the same place where the story is focused on. So its likely an error in perceiving this place or that is possible. And that is why we need to have a local person speak and correct something that might not be as it appears to the general reading audience. Have a nice day, Boyd.
Ana, I sure hope you aren’t a republican and that you belong to some fringe 3rd party. If you are an elephant, please leave my party, because your hate is what my party needs to get away from.
Oh, and BTW, my fiance and I are not second-class citizens. How would you feel if someone treated you and our partner like you were less than normal?
Problem = Republican governor
Do they have enough votes for an override?
Hey Ana. It seems like the only bigger waste of time and resources is your presence here. Are you a fag hag? You have way too much time on your hands. Why don’t you do the work of God and feed the hungry and clothe the poor.Comfort the afflicted and warm the cold you evil bi*ch. God is going to fry you like a hushpuppie you ignorant slag.
@ ANA:
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are as important for what they do NOT say as what they DO say.
“All [men ... we still have some work to do on THAT!] are created equal. Not all white men, not all Christian men, not all protestant men, not all wealthy men, not all conservative Republican men, but ALL MEN (understanding, though it took us 200 years to figure it OUT, that “men” meant “PEOPLE”).
The Bill of Rights was IMMEDIATELY inserted into the Constitution BEFORE THE INK WAS DRY for the SOLE purpose of protecting the minorities against the tyranny of the majority. The Founders read Greek; they knew the story of how “democracy” in Athens quickly degenerated into mob rule.
It doesn’t matter a fish fillet on Friday whether .5 percent, 3 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent, or 49.5 of American citizens are GLBTQAI. WE ARE GUARANTEED THE SAME RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION *NOW*, and always HAVE been.
But so were African-Americans … and they’re STILL on THEIR journey to secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and their children.
It also doesn’t matter if 99.5 percent of all Americans think we are immoral, animals, despicable, reprehensible, diseased, promiscuous, destined for hell, etc.
WE STILL HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION AS THE PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT.
THAT’S not a matter of OPINION or RELIGIOUS DOGMA, but of Constitutional LAW.
The VAST majority of “cultured” white Southerners found the debates and demonstrations for African-American civil rights messy, uncouth, loud, counter-productive, vulgar, etc. etc. etc.
You know what? Their opinion DIDN’T MATTER. African-American civil rights WAS going to happen, with or without them.
The same is true of GLBTQAI rights. They will happen, with or without the support of the three monotheistic religions (who have managed to spill more blood and hold civilization back more than any other single entity).
THERE WILL *BE* NO THEOCRACY IN THESE UNITED STATES, AS LONG AS THE CONSTITUTION STANDS!
Bud Burgoon-Clark
San Diego CA USA
happily RECOVERING from kristianism
happily GAY
happily MARRIED to my HUSBAND
no thanks to the ROMAN and MORMON
PAGAN FERTILITY CULTS and the
kraven kowardly kristianist
kultist krazies (KKKKK for short)…
I’M STILL WAITING FOR 1st CLASS CITIZENSHIP!
Ana said: “I find it insulting that the legislature would even cave in to homosexual pressure and bring again this sort of nonsense to the floor.”
Equal rights for all Americans are unimportant? I think you should investigate a nice, cozy mental hospital for people of your faith. Certainly they will accept you as a charity case.
I don’t understand how Hawaii’s legislature finds so much time to waste on such an irrelevant issue that has no importance to the american public. The homosexual agenda keeps urging our local governments to prioritize the imposition of so called “equality” ideals over the pressing economic crisis were in.
This spending of our tax payer dollars for what, if not to see wealthy homosexuals go against federal laws by giving each other in marriage. Local governments like those of Hawaii are ignoring the dire economic situation their people are living in but instead feel this issue of constantly managing around federal law to make way for homosexuals to marry is more important. While I do appreciate the protection given to the wording of the definition of marriage, I find it insulting that the legislature would even cave in to homosexual pressure and bring again this sort of nonsense to the floor.
Look, I have lived in Hawaii for my entire life. I can tell you now it is very homophobic. Despite what people think gay rights are far behind that of many other states. The largest problem here is much like California; we have a lot of old people and Mormons. That means a lot of old hate and Mormon money to run commercials saying it’s ok. You know some of our fast food places don’t even have regular coke, they have coke without caffeine (you don’t get a choice when you order). BYU, the Mormon college, has a campus here. Most democrats here are really republicans who keep the “D” by their name as it’s easier to be elected. By the way most dems in Hawaii only support the dems because they remember the rich plantation owners were Republicans; but very rarely support anything on the democrat platform.
So don’t get excited when you hear about a civil union bill here, it’ll never be passed. What this article doesn’t mention is that our Lt. Gov is not just James Aiona; it is the Rev. James Aiona. He is staunchly against any gay rights what so ever as it would be against God. This is not to mention that our Governor is a self hating, closeted lesbian Republican who would never sign the bill into law. The State House and Senate would never have enough 2/3’s to over-ride her. Frankly to me, this article wasn’t worth publishing.
EITHER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT –IT STILL ISNT MARRIAGE ! THEY DONT EVEN RECOGNIZE THE WORD MARRIAGE IN THE STATES OF MASS, & CONN.-WHERE IT IS CALLED MARRIAGE BUT NOT IN HAWAII-I AM CONFUSED !
The civil unions offered by the state of Hawaii is a “bone”…this statement: “The measure would legalize civil unions with all of the benefits, protections and responsibilities of marriage” simply put, IS NOT TRUE!
They DO NOT allow same sex couples to file joint federal income tax returns, they DO NOT allow the spouse of a same sex couple citizenship, they DO NOT allow military privileges on bases such as taxless purchases, housing and healthcare, they DO NOT provide health care or insurance policies for the spouses of Veterans…How can ANYONE claim that these civil unions give same sex couples “the same benefits and privileges of marriage” !?!?!?
“[It] attempts to circumvent the will of the people by authorizing the equivalent to same-sex marriage,” Lt. Gov. James Aiona told committee members.
James, I don’t know the proper “respectful” salutation is for the Lt. Governor of Hawaii. Truthfully, I am not interested in the respectful term for addressing another human-being who clearly does not respect me, so I will simply be civil. Do you have the slightest concept of what you said (his statement above)? Truly, do you?
You have just contravened the 2d sentence in the Declaration of Independence. I simply do not know what to say except, “Yes Massah, I’s sawry that I fowhhghat mah place in dis heeaa world.
If only all the other states saw this the way alot of people in Hawaii see the civil union or even marriage in the gay community. I was devistated when california’s marriage between 2 men or 2 women failed it was hart wrenching, my partner and i were planning on going to san francisco to get married but that has been put on hold hopping that they reinstate the marriage there.