Bills Legalizing, Banning Marriage Equality Introduced In Hawaii

Bills which seek to legalize gay marriage and constitutionally prohibit it were introduced Thursday in Hawaii. State Representative Faye P. Hanohano, a Democrat from Puna, is the sole sponsor of a bill which seeks to make Hawaii the 10th state to legalize such unions. House Bill 1109 states its purpose as “to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex in the State of Hawaii. It is the intent of the legislation to extend to same-sex couples the right to marry and to receive all the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of marriage as opposite-sex couples receive under the laws of this State.” Two years ago, lawmakers approved civil unions for gay and lesbian couples after a protracted fight which began nearly 18 years earlier with a Hawaii State Supreme Court ruling which favored marriage equality advocates but allowed lawmakers to decide on a remedy.