Hawaii Senate Approves Gay Unions

 

 

Hawaii Senate Approves Gay Unions Bill

Good news from the sunny isles in the Pacific,  a special  bill that would offer gay couples identical benefits and responsibilities to marriage was approved by the Hawaii Senate on Friday, reports the Hawaii Reporter

The measure sailed thought the Senate with a 19 to 6 vote. Five Democrats voted against the bill.

The Senate's Judiciary Committee approved the measure on Tuesday with a 3-2 vote.

The civil unions measure is nearly identical to a bill approved last year by the Legislature and vetoed by then-Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican.

Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie defeated James “Duke” Aiona on November 2. Aiona, as lieutenant governor, agreed with Lingle's decision and pledged to back an amendment that would ban government recognition of all gay unions, closing the option for civil unions or domestic partnerships left open by a 1988 constitutional amendment granting lawmakers the power to define marriage as a heterosexual union.

In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage advocates but allowed lawmakers to decide on a remedy.

Abercrombie has pledged to sign the measure, which now heads to the House.