Tag Archives: Hawaii

Hawaii House of Representatives Passes Civil Unions Bill

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Aloha and Happy Saturday, Blenders! There is exciting news out of Hawaii to kick off the weekend. SB232, which establishes Civil Unions, passed its third and final reading yesterday in the Hawaii State House of Representatives by a vote of 31-19.

Usually not at a loss for words, Alan Spector needed a moment to compose himself before reacting to yesterday's vote by the state House of Representatives to legalize civil unions in Hawaii.

Spector was among about two dozen supporters of the civil-unions bill who quietly celebrated in the Capitol courtyard following the House vote — an outcome that was as emotional as it was expected.

“This shows that persistence pays off,” said Spector, co-chairman of Equality Hawaii. “This is a great day for Hawaii.”

The YES votes were Reps. Belatti, Brower, Carroll, Coffman, Evans, Hanohano, Hashem, Herkes, Ichiyama, Ito, Jordan, Keith-Agaran, Chris Lee, Marilyn Lee, Luke, Marumoto, McKelvey, Morikawa, Morita, Nakashima, Nishimoto, Blake Oshiro, Marcus Oshiro, Pono, Rhoads, Saiki, Speaker Say, Takumi, Thielen, Wooley, and Yamashita.

The NO votes were Reps. Aquino, Awana, Chang, Ching, Choy, Cullen, Fontaine, Har, Johanson, Manahan, Mizuno, Pine, Riviere, Souki, Takai, Tokioka, Tsuji, Ward, and Yamane.

Rep. Cabanilla was excused from the final vote.

Because an amendment was added to SB232, it must go back to the Senate for a final vote before going to Gov. Abercrombie's desk. According to Hawaii Pride Alliance's Van Law, “The House made a clarifying amendment per recommendation from the Attorney General's office. It clarifies that state tax laws applies to married couples and civil union couples in the same way. Now the Senate has to vote to accept that change, which the Senate Judiciary Chair has indicated they should without much debate.”

“If everything looks OK, we'll probably just do our vote in the early part of the week,” said Senate President Shan Tsutsui (D, Wailuku-Kahului).

“There is a commitment” to moving quickly, said Sen. Brickwood Galuteria (D, Downtown-Waikiki), Senate majority leader.

Civil Unions isn't the only bill in play for the LGBT community during this legislative session. HB546 would codify employment nondiscrimination based on gender identity or expression. Currently GI is a protected class in housing and public accomodation. HB546 passed out of the House Committee on Labor, and has yet to be scheduled for a hearing by the Judiciary Committee.

The other bill is SB934, which deals with issues of bullying. The bill was heard on February 9th by the Senate Committee on Education, and passed out of committe by a vote of 5-0, 1 excused. SB934 specifically lists sexual orientation and gender identity in its text.

“Bullying” or “cyberbullying” means any written, verbal, or physical act, or any electronic communication including but not limited to a communication shown to be motivated by a student's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry or ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability, gender, gender identity and expression, or other distinguishing personal characteristic…

Congratulations to all those working for equality in Hawaii, including Pride Alliance, Equality Hawaii, Unite Here Local 5, PFLAG, Da Moms, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, the interfaith community, and all those in the a'ina who have come out in support of equal rights.

Pam’s House Blend – Front Page

—  David Taffet

Hawaii Passes Civil Unions

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HAWAII FLAG X390 (WIKI) | ADVOCATE.COMThe Hawaii house of representatives passed a bill Friday to legalize
civil unions in the state after more than a decade of contentious debate
with a 31-19, the Associated Press reports.
Advocate.com: Daily News

—  David Taffet

HAWAII: Civil Unions Pass In House!

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The Hawaii House has just approved its civil unions bill by a vote of 31-19!

The bill now goes back to the Senate, which passed a similar version of the measure last month. If the Senate agrees to changes in the bill made by the House, the measure would go to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who supports civil unions legislation. Senate Bill 232 would grant same-sex and heterosexual couples the ability to enter into a civil union with all of the rights, protections, benefits and responsibilities of traditional marriage.

The House changes — recommended by the state Attorney General’s Office — clarify that because civil unions will not be recognized under federal law, certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to husbands and wives in Hawaii would apply with the same force and effect to partners in civil unions. Family Court will also have jurisdiction in matters of annulment, divorce and separation in civil unions, as the court does over marriages.

Just one more step!

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—  David Taffet

Hawaii passes Gay Civil Unions bill in House vote!

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Joe posted earlier, “Things are moving fast for the civil unions bill in Hawaii. The Senate already passed the legislation. Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee approved it. Next stop, the House floor — and that will happen soon:”

It happened!

State House members approved a proposal today to legalize civil unions in Hawaii.

Members approved the proposal by a 31-19 vote. One member, Rep. Rida Cabanilla, was absent.

The bill now goes back to the Senate, which passed a similar version of the measure last month. If the Senate agrees to changes in the bill made by the House, the measure would go to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who supports civil unions legislation.

The stain FOREVER remains on Linda Lingle’s legacy.




AMERICAblog Gay

—  David Taffet

Hawaii State House Approves Landmark Bill to Protect Same-Sex Couples

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Today the Hawaii State House passed SB 232 SD1 HD1 by a 31-19 vote.  The bill provides that equal rights and responsibilities of married couples in Hawaii be afforded to thousands of non-married couples in the state – including same-sex couples.

“Today is a great day for the people of Hawaii,” said Alan Spector, co-chair for Equality Hawaii.  “The action taken by the House today sends a strong message that our state recognizes the importance of moving towards equality.  Providing equal rights to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is long overdue and we thank all those who have stood with us to make this day a reality.”

After minor changes were made in the House, the bill now heads to back to the Senate for agreement on the amendments before heading to Gov. Neil Abercrombie for his signature.  SB 232 SD1 passed the Hawaii Senate on January 28, by a 19-6 vote.  Except for some technical corrections and implementation amendments, the bill is identical to HB 444, the civil unions bill passed in 2010.  That bill passed the House and Senate with near supermajorities before Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed it.  No override vote was held.

“The Human Rights Campaign congratulates the Hawaii House of Representatives for overwhelmingly supporting the equal dignity and respect of Hawaii’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families,” said HRC president Joe Solmonese.  “No child of a same-sex family should have to grow up with less protections or thinking their family is less legitimate or loving than others.”

The Human Rights Campaign and Equality Hawaii have worked closely together since 2008 to build both public and legislative support for civil unions.  Through this joint effort, tens of thousands of phone calls, emails, postcards and handwritten letters have been sent to legislators urging them to approve this legislation.  More on our work in Hawaii is  www.hrcbackstory.org/category/states/hawaii/.

When Hawaii’s civil unions law is signed, the state will join thirteen other states plus Washington, D.C. with laws providing an expansive form of state-level relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples.  Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington D.C. provide marriage to same-sex couples under state law.  New York and Maryland recognize out-of-jurisdiction same-sex marriages, but do not provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples in state.  Five other states—California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington —provide same-sex couples with access to almost of all the state level benefits and responsibilities of marriage, through either civil unions or domestic partnerships.  A new law providing for civil unions in Illinois will take effect on June 1st.

Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, and Wisconsin provide gay and lesbian couples with limited rights and benefits, not all rights provided to married couples.  An attorney general opinion and subsequent court ruling in Rhode Island resulted in limited recognition of out-of-jurisdiction marriages of same-sex couples. California recognized marriage for same-sex couples between June and November of 2008, before voters approved Proposition 8, which purports to amend the state constitution to prohibit marriage equality.  Couples married during that window remain married under California law, but all other same-sex couples can only receive a domestic partnership within the state. The state will recognize out-of-jurisdiction same-sex marriages that occurred before November 5, 2008 as marriages and those that occurred on or after November 5, 2008 as similar to domestic partnerships.

Same-sex couples do not receive federal rights and benefits in any state.  For an electronic map showing where marriage equality stands in the states, please visit: www.HRC.org/State_Laws.


Human Rights Campaign | HRC Back Story

—  David Taffet

Progress begins in Hawaii on civil unions bill

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In July of 2010, Hawaii’s then-Governor, Linda Lingle, who has been married and divorce twice, vetoed civil unions legislation. Fortunately, the state has a new Governor, Neil Abercrombie, who supports equality. In both the Democratic primary and the general election, Abercrombie was unequivocal in his support for civil unions — against opponents who would do what would Lingle did. Now, they call him Governor Abercrombie.

Equality Hawaii reports that the process to pass the civil unions bill in the new session has begun:

The Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee passed SB232 SD1, Hawaii’s new civil unions bill, by a 3-2 vote Tues., Jan. 25.

Equality Hawaii thanks Sens. Clayton Hee, Maile Shimabukuro and Les Ihara, Jr., who voted in favor of the measure.

The bill now heads to the full Senate for a second and third reading. The second reading is slated for Jan. 26 with the final reading anticipated Fri., Jan. 28.

Good work, Equality Hawaii.




AMERICAblog Gay

—  admin

News: Grilled Cheese, Hawaii, Ferris Bueller, Qantas, Rafael Nadal

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Road It Gets Better: The Book.

RoadHawaii begins debate on civil unions bill.

RoadHRC VP: Don't expect much in State of the Union address. "I just don't think that this is a speech that we should put all our eggs in this basket." 

50 RoadGay couple celebrate 50 years. "Jack and George have been together since they first met at a friend’s bon voyage party on Jan. 19, 1961."

RoadJersey Shore heading to Italy for fourth season.

RoadThe Ferris Bueller/Fight Club theory.

RoadFormer MN Gov. Jesse Ventura sues Homeland Security and TSA: "Ventura is asking a federal judge in Minnesota to issue an injunction ordering officials to stop subjecting him to 'warrantless and suspicionless' scans and body searches."

RoadDaily Mail columnist defends self against column that said gay people are out to destroy "normal sexual behavior". Melanie Phillips: "I have nothing against gay people and would always defend them against true prejudice – as I did in my article, and as I often do when considering the threat posed to them by radical Islamism. What does concern me, however, is the ‘gay rights’ political agenda which, as activists have often made clear, aims to change the basic moral framework of society."

RoadKeanu Reeves reveals that he's gearing up for 4th and 5th sequels to The Matrix.

Grilledcheese RoadThe grilled cheese and tomato…martini.

RoadFBI: Federal hate crime charges unlikely in arson attack on gay man's home in Carroll County, Georgia. We are prepared to take a closer look at it, but everything we have so far indicates that case will stay with Carroll County authorities."

RoadBush administration broke elections law.

RoadAustraian Formula One legend Niki Lauda wants ban on same-sex dancing on TV: "I have absolutely nothing against homosexuals. In fact, quite the contrary. In my airline Fly Niki I even have a few working for me, there is even some who are trainers. All I want is that children and teenagers don't get to see the wrong role models in dancing. There are so many good things in our culture and one of those is that men dance with women. At this rate we will soon have to be saying sorry because we are heterosexual."

RoadManchester, UK gay bar posts under fire for posting want ad for straight workers.

RoadQantas flight drops 26,000 feet after losing pressure.

RoadLISTEN: Jennifer Hudson's new single "Where You At".

Penguins_nadal RoadRafael Nadal and penguins. That's all.

RoadAndrew Belonsky on political calls for civility: "Perhaps the key to political congeniality isn't playing what some are wryly describing as State of the Union 'musical chairs,' even restricting bombastic rhetoric, although those certainly help. Maybe the actual catalyst for lasting civility lies in supporting LGBT equality."

RoadALERT: Zac Efron is on a diet.

RoadLooks like a pump, feels like a flipper.

Road4Play Squash, Britain's first gay squash club, given government grant to attract lesbians and transgender people to the sport: "The club was given the cash by Sport England that is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The funds will also be used to encourage bisexuals to take advantage of free coaching sessions, as well as funding new equipments, The Telegraph reports. 4Play Squash, based at the Finsbury Leisure Centre, in Camden, north London, was formed 21 years ago."


Towleroad News #gay

—  admin

New Opportunity to Pass Civil Unions in Hawaii

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Today, the Hawaii state legislature opens their 2011-12 legislative session at the state capitol in Honolulu.  They will have many important issues to address, but we need to send a strong message that LGBT civil rights should be among the highest of priorities. If you’re a Hawaii resident, please send a message to your legislators urging them to act swiftly to pass civil unions!

The time is now to finally end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the Aloha State, and to treat ALL families in Hawaii with the same dignity and respect. No child of a same-gendered family should have to grow up thinking their family is somehow less loving or legitimate than their straight counterparts.

As we’ve done three times in the past two years, HRC is sending staff to Hawaii to help with the legislative effort and to mobilize HRC’s members, supporters and allies. I will work with Equality Hawaii and the broad coalition of local organizations and volunteers to finally pass this bill.

If you’d like to help with the campaign for equality in Hawaii, please email me at tony.wagner@hrc.org.


Human Rights Campaign | HRC Back Story

—  admin

News: Justin Timberlake, Hawaii, Sharron Angle, Michael Jackson

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road Storm chaser Matt Hughes dies mysteriously, but not while on the job.

Ustin road What's the best way to try and sell a Justin Timberlake movie? Make sure he's shirtless throughout most of the trailer.

road Sharron Angle isn't done with politicals just yet.

road Bill Maher thinks last weekend's rally to "Restore Sanity" in DC needed more depth: "If you're going to have a rally… you might as well make it about something."

road Like Rachel Maddow, Vermont Senator Bernie Sander is outraged over Keith Olbermann's suspension: "This is a real threat to political discourse in America and will have a chilling impact on every commentator for MSNBC."

road Good post-election day news from Hawaii: "After Tuesday's election, civil unions picked up at least one vote in the Senate and lost a vote in the House, which is still four more votes than the 26 needed for a bill to pass, according to Equality Hawaii, which advocates for the legislation."

road Sounds like this guy has seen the movie Psycho one too many times.

Michaeljackson road A new Michael Jackson album will be released just in time for Christmas. Listen to a sample of the first single here.

road Prince Harry is not afraid to show off his pink.

road Huey Lewis "flattered" that he was responsible for helping someone realize his own sexuality.

road According to a recent poll by The Salt Lake Tribune "55 percent of LDS respondents said it’s possible to change same-sex attractions, compared with 20 percent of non-LDS respondents. The LDS Church teaches that having same-sex attractions isn’t sinful, but acting on those attractions is."

road How can anything Sarah Palin does be considered "non-political?"


Towleroad News #gay

—  admin

Civil unions veto will have political repercussions in Hawaii

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Supporters, opponents agree issue likely to motivate voters on both sides

Herbert A. Sample | Associated Press Writer

HONOLULU — John Smith has long voted for Republicans, including Gov. Linda Lingle’s two gubernatorial bids. However, the 73-year-old retiree said he’s about done with the GOP after Lingle’s veto of a same-sex civil unions measure last week.

“Maybe it’s emotion, but I’m approaching that stage,” said Smith, the father of a lesbian. “I think it’s such a violation. I’ve had it with the Republicans.”

Smith may be an anomaly, but he is one face of the potential ramifications Lingle’s veto and the lingering civil unions issue may have on Hawaii’s politics.

Those consequences could take many forms. For example, Democrats and independents who oppose civil unions may be drawn to GOP Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona, who hopes to succeed Lingle in November.

Aiona, a fervent Christian with conservative positions on social issues, is calling for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, a proposal that faces huge hurdles in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

Still, civil unions could become a hot topic in the gubernatorial and a handful of legislative contests this fall. Activists on both sides insist residents who care about the issue will be galvanized to vote in November.

“Invariably, I think it will have some impact … at the polls,” said Francis Oda, chairman of Hawaii Family Forum, a conservative group that opposed the legislation.

Alan Spector, who is as passionately supportive of civil unions as Oda is against it, agrees.

“Clearly, I think what the governor did is going to motivate a lot of people on both sides,” said Spector of the gay rights group Equality Hawaii.

The contentious civil unions bill divided generally liberal, tourism-dependent Hawaii like no other topic in some time. The last time a social issue was felt at the polls here was more than a decade ago, when a half-dozen legislators were ousted at least in part due to their support for gay marriage.

A year ago, Oda’s group and several Catholic and evangelical Protestant leaders started “The 80/80 Vision,” an effort to convince 80 percent of Christian churchgoers to register to vote. Oda said that effort has largely succeeded, and the next step is to nudge them to the polls in November.

The state Republican Party hopes those voters will back GOP candidates.

Party chairman Jonah Kaauwai last week criticized Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mufi Hannemann for avoiding a clear answer on whether he would have signed or vetoed the measure, even though Hannemann spoke at an anti-civil unions rally in January.

Hannemann, the mayor of Honolulu, has said he opposes gay marriage but he and his aides has steadfastly avoided stating whether he would have signed or vetoed the civil unions legislation.

His Democratic rival, former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, unhesitatingly said he would have signed the legislation. Last week, he won the endorsement of the state Democratic Party’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Caucus.

While economy, education, taxes and other issues may eventually be the focus of the gubernatorial candidates, civil unions may play a bigger role in a few legislative districts.

The most prominent example could turn out to be the Sept. 18 Democratic primary between five-term incumbent Rep. Blake Oshiro, the chief sponsor of the bill, and Honolulu Councilman Gary Okino, who strongly opposes it.

“It’s easy for people to focus on kinda hot-button issues, but my purpose is actually to fix the Legislature,” said Okino, whose campaign will focus more on adopting term limits for lawmakers and shifting to a unicameral legislature.

Oshiro said he’s hopeful that voters will look at the larger picture and the bigger issues that affect their daily lives, like the economy, education and jobs.

“But I am a realist, and for certain people, this issue is a litmus test,” he said.

—  John Wright