Hawaii: Inside the state that sparked the gay marriage debate.

Posted by justinquincy , Jul, 2009 @ 9:29 am

It was 1993 when the Hawaii Supreme Court waded into the culture wars, ruling that the state of Hawaii must allow gays and lesbians to marry. Sixteen years later, a bill to legalize civil unions in that state still has not had a chance and the state only allows “reciprocal benefits”, limited benefits for same sex couples that are far from inclusive of the rights of marriage. So, what’s the story behind the state that started it all, the state that sparked the movement to pass the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996?

The power of the minority against the minority is the true tale of today’s Hawaiian fight for gay rights. Hawaii’s Senate has 25 members, 18 of which have said they are ready to vote on a civil unions measure to make them legal. But, one person, Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, is in charge of sending the measure to the wider senate and she is against it. Thus, once more civil union legislation has failed in the beautiful state.

In 1998, Hawaii passed a measure making only opposite-sex marriage legal in the state. Nearly 70 percent of Hawaiians voters approved the measure. This week the Massachusetts Attorney General, which has issued gay marriage licenses since 2004, has filed suit against DOMA and the kinds of measures Hawaii passed after the 1993 court ruling of its own.

In a state where over 40% of its residents are either divorced (8%) or never married (32%), there would appear to be on the surface a great reason to move forward on this kind of legislation from both an economic perspective and a civil rights perspective.

Nonetheless, if the Senate president remains in power this could take some time. In the meantime, the lawsuit against DOMA may be a fail safe and it begs the question: Could a movement started in 1993 in the far reaches of the Pacific be settled sixteen years later on the shores of the Atlantic?

Every Monday Actology highlights a new issue that is currently being discussed and debated in the national spotlight. This section is a place for thoughtful analysis and ideas for solving some of the tough activist issues that our generation faces.