KGMB-TV

Donna Gedge and Monica Montgomery

The dual ceremonies were held in a private residence on the island of Oahu with around 90 people in attendance.

The gathering waited for the civil union applications to become available on the Internet after midnight. When they finally came on-line, it took each couple about ten minutes to complete the forms. Then, it took another five minutes for each of the three civil union officiants to apply for their licenses to perform the ceremony. And then there was a short delay because of an in-house computer glitch.

But the couples were ready when, one hour after midnight, the ceremony began, led by Rev. Kyle Lovett of the Church of the Crossroads, Rev. Jonipher Kwong of the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, and Rev. Pam Vessels. The couples exchanged vows and rings.

Then, the three officiants said, in unison, “We now pronounce that you are legally joined as partners in life.” The celebrants cheered as the couples kissed.

KGMB-TV

Hawaii’s civil unions law grants same-sex and heterosexual couples the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

“It represents the culmination of almost 20 years of an effort to achieve equality in Hawaii,” said guest Valerie Smith, co-chair of Equality Hawaii. “It’s one step close to full marriage equality.”

The other same-sex couple who participated in the celebration of the rites, Gary Bradley and Paul Perry have been together for three and-a-half years.

Under Hawaii’s new law, not only are the four same-sex couples legally recognized in the state, any same-sex couple legally married or in a civil union in any other state or country now also have those relationships legally recognized in Hawaii as well.

With Hawaii and Delaware joining the list Sunday, five states now recognize same-sex civil unions, while six other states — New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Vermont — and the District of Columbia, allow same-sex marriage.

Hawaiian Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie had signed the civil unions’ bill into law last February 23, making the state the fifth in the nation to recognize same-sex civil unions. While civil unions are not considered marriage, the legally binding agreement provides same-sex couples in Hawaii with many of the same legal rights and benefits of marriage.

Local Honolulu television station KHON-TV reported that one of the four couples taking part in the New Year’s Eve event has been together for thirty-three years.

Tambry Young and Suzanne King, two women who were married in Massachusetts in 2009, are helping the couples coordinate the event as members of the CU in Hawaii 2012 Planning Committee.

“They’ve seen some of their friends pass away before this actually could be enacted, so it’s an important step for them,” said Young. “The Department of Health did a tremendous job in getting this system up and running. So basically what happens is twelve midnight the system goes live.”

“We can help them kind of walk through that to make sure that they have everything up and running … I think everybody’s realizing that this is the next step in our evolution to get full equality and I think everyone’s taking it serious,” said Young.

For both Young and King, January 1 will also mark a turning point in their thirty year relationship. Their marriage in Massachusetts will also be recognized as a civil union in Hawaii.

Young and King were forced to terminate their reciprocal benefits agreement in Hawaii before the state could recognize their partnership as a civil union.

KHON-TV

For the past ten months the State Health Department has been drawing up plans for an online application process for same sex couples who want to take advantage of Hawaii’s new law.

Other state agencies have also been updating their rules and regulations in order to make certain that civil union couples have the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

The couple, Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford, claim the Honolulu inn denied them public accommodation because of their sexual orientation.

Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford

Hawaii’s public accommodation law prohibits any inn or “other establishment that provides lodging to transient guests” from discriminating based on sexual orientation, race, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, ancestry or disability.

“When you open the doors of your business to the public, Hawaii law absolutely forbids you from discriminating against your customers,” said Peter Renn, staff attorney at Lambda Legal.

“You can’t roll up the welcome mat when you see a lesbian or gay couple, just as you can’t refuse to do business with Jewish customers, African-American customers, or disabled customers,” said Renn.

“No business owner is above the law. If you choose to open a business, then you must play by the same rules that apply to everyone else—you don’t get to pick and choose the laws that you like.”

According to the suit, Cervelli and Bufford were traveling to Hawaii to visit a close friend and her newborn baby. The friend recommended Aloha Bed & Breakfast based on its proximity to the friend’s residence.

In their first call to the business, the owner wanted to know whether Cervelli and Bufford were lesbians. When they answered truthfully, the owner refused to rent them a room because they were a lesbian couple.

Cervelli and Bufford filed discrimination complaints with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, which conducted an investigation and found reasonable cause to believe that illegal discrimination had occurred.

During the investigation, the inn’s owner, Phyllis Young, admitted that she turned the couple away because they were lesbians.

Young explained her personal belief that same-sex relationships are “detestable” and that they “defile our land.”

In another development Monday, the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission moved to intervene in the lawsuit as a plaintiff in order to protect and enforce the state anti-discrimination law, which Aloha Bed & Breakfast claims does not and cannot constrain its conduct.

“I can’t tell you how much it hurt to be essentially told, ‘we don’t do business with your kind of people.’ We don’t want anyone else to experience that and made to feel like they have no place in society. It still stings to this day,” Cervelli said.

“We aren’t asking the owner to change her beliefs; we just want her to follow the law applicable to all Hawaii businesses and not to deny us the same roof over our head that she provides to every other paying customer.”

A copy of the complaint is here.

Natasha N. Jackson and Janin Kleid claim that the state’s refusal to issue them a marriage license violates their due process and equal protection rights guaranteed them by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, reported Hawaii News Now.

HawaiiNewsNow.com

Natasha Jackson (left) and Janin Kleid

The couple tried to obtain a marriage license on Nov. 18, but the state Health Department denied them one because they are both women.

Hawaii’s civil unions law takes effect on Jan. 1 and allows same-sex and opposite-sex couples to enter into a civil union with the same state rights and responsibilities as a traditional marriage, but the couple claims that civil unions are an insufficient “substitute for marriage,” and that they’re being deprived a fundamental right.

Their attorney John D’Amato argues the state law reserving marriage to only heterosexual couples is discriminatory and violates the 14th amendment. He says it would not require another constitutional amendment to change the law.

“It would just require a judge to look at that law and say yeah plaintiffs you’re right it does violate your rights to due process and equal protection under the federal constitution,” said D’Amato. “The state’s denying Janin and Natasha the right to marry deprives them of a fundamental right and is unjustly discriminatory.”

Hawaii News Now

D’Amato said that heterosexual couples can choose between marriage and civil unions, but believe they are being denied their due process and equal protection rights because gay and lesbian couples only have the option of civil unions.

In 1998, Hawaii voters passed a constitutional amendment keeping marriage between a man and a woman, but the couple said the U.S. constitution is on their side.

In a poll, conducted earlier this month by the Raleigh, N.C.-based Public Policy Polling firm, also found that 40 percent of voters, however want same-sex marriage to remain illegal.

The results were 77 percent support gay couples having some sort of legal recognition, with 40% still supporting full marriage, and 37% favoring civil unions. That sentiment is shared by 90 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of independents, and even 59 percent of Republicans.

Hawaii currently does not have full marriage rights for gay couples, but civil unions will be legal next year in the state.

Governor Neil Abercrombie (D), signed same-sex civil unions into law last February, granting same-sex and heterosexual couples the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

According to the firm’s published results, PPP surveyed 568 Hawaii voters from October 13 thru till Oct 16. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.1%.

The firm cites on its site: “This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.”

PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of The New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.

Linda Lingle

Lingle, whose 2010 veto stopped a civil unions bill giving the Aloha state’s same-sex couples the same protections under the law as married heterosexual couples, is already drawing criticism.

Matt Canter, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

“Today marks Linda Lingle’s biggest announcement since she nominated Sarah Palin for Vice President [at the 2008 Republican National Convention], an event that typifies Lingle’s partisan Republican approach to governing,” said Canter.

“Now Lingle wants to go to Washington to become a rubber-stamp for Mitch McConnell and the Republican party whose sole priority is to defeat President Obama at every turn.”

Lingle disagreed, saying in an interview with a local radio show:

“I want to be real clear on this point: I don’t work for (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell, and for that matter I don’t work for President Obama. I work for the people of Hawaii. [...] “And if there is a law being proposed, whether it’s from the president or from Mitch McConnell, if it’s good for Hawaii I’m for it. If it’s not good for us, I’m against it regardless of who introduces it.”

Seven months following her veto, the new Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed the same-sex civil unions into law, just one week after the bill again passed the state Legislature.

The new law bars employers from discriminating on the basis of gender identity or expression, bringing Hawaii’s labor law in line with similar protections in the areas of housing and public accommodations.

Hawaii becomes the 13th state to ban employment discrimination based on gender identity or expression.

Earlier this year, Abercrombie signed a same-sex civil unions bill into law, granting same-sex and heterosexual couples the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports:

House Bill 546 would bar employers from discriminating on the basis of gender expression, bringing Hawaii’s labor law in line with similar protections in the areas of housing and public accommodations.

The House, in a 45-4 vote on Monday, agreed to accept the Senate’s amended draft of the bill, allowing the proposal to skip the conference committee process and move directly to the Gov. Neil Abercromie for his signature.

“Today is a great day for all residents of Hawaii,” said Alan Spector, co-chairman of Equality Hawaii. “Providing employment protections to transgender people in Hawaii is a victory for civil rights.”

Earlier this year, Abercrombie signed a same-sex civil unions bill into law, granting same-sex and heterosexual couples the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

The bill, HB 546, was previously approved in the state House, and passed in the Senate by a vote of 22-2.

The law codifies prohibitions against discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity.

“The march towards full equality in the Aloha State continues,” Alan Spector, Equality Hawaii co-chair, said in a press release. “Providing employment protections to transgender citizens in Hawaii is a victory for civil rights and equal treatment under the law for all residents of our great state.”

- via Honolulu Civil Beat

The legislation now heads to Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) for his signature.

If approved, Hawaii will join 12 states and the District of Columbia to provide transgender employment, housing and public accommodation protections.

Earlier this year, Abercrombie signed a same-sex civil unions bill into law, granting same-sex and heterosexual couples the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

This is the first bill Abercrombie (D) has signed into law since being elected in November. The bill passed the state Legislature last week.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports:

“E Komo Mai: It means all are welcome,” Abercrombie said in remarks before signing the bill into law.

“This signing today of this measure says to all of the world that they are welcome. That everyone is a brother or sister here in paradise.”

“The legalization of civil unions in Hawaii represents in my mind equal rights for all people,” he said.

Just seven months ago, former Republican Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a virtually identical bill passed in the state legislature last year.

Lingle characterized civil unions as same-sex marriage by another name.

“This bill has been a long time coming for committed couples in Hawaii who have been denied the basic right to take care of their families,” said Laurie Temple, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii.

Approval of the bill also brings an end to a lawsuit filed by gay couples against the state last year after Lingle’s veto, the ACLU said.

Hawaii has figured prominently in the national gay rights movement’s efforts since the early 1990s, when the state Supreme Court nearly legalized gay marriage.

The bill now goes to Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who supports civil unions and has promised to sign the bill into law.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports:

“I have always believed that civil unions respect our diversity, protect people’s privacy, and reinforce our core values of equality and aloha,” Abercrombie said in a statement after the vote.

“I appreciate all the time and effort invested by those who shared their thoughts and concerns regarding civil unions in Hawaii. This has been an emotional process for everyone involved, but that process is now ended. Everyone has been heard; all points of view respected.

“For me, this bill represents equal rights for all the people of Hawaii,” Abercrombie said.

The Senate vote was 18-5. On Friday, the full House passed the bill by a vote of 31-19.

The bill would allow same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter into civil unions and receive the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

The governor has 10 legislative days to review it. His office said details of a bill signing ceremony are forthcoming.

The measure will go into effect January 1, 2012.

It is virtually identical to a bill passed by the Legislature last year but vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle (R), who characterized civil unions as same-sex marriage by another name.

The full House passed the bill by a vote of 31-19.

The bill would allow same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter into civil unions and receive the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

Last month, the state Senate passed the civil unions bill by a vote of 19-6.

But because of amendments attached in the House at the recommendation of the state Attorney General’s Office, the bill will now go back to the Senate before making its way to the Governor for his signature.

Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie has promised to sign the civil unions legislation if approved, calling it a simple issue of civil rights.

The bill would allow same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter into civil unions and receive the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports:

With the necessary votes in both chambers and a new Democratic governor who has voiced support for civil unions, lawmakers have moved swiftly to take advantage of the consensus so they can move on to other, less polarizing matters this session.

Lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee heard nearly five hours of testimony in the state Capitol auditorium yesterday as supporters and opponents raised familiar arguments for and against the measure.

Last month, the state Senate passed the civil unions bill by a vote of 19-6.

But because of amendments attached in the House at the recommendation of the state Attorney General’s Office, the bill will go back to the Senate once passed in the full House before making its way to the Governor for his signature.

The amendments to the bill were added to ensure that the relationships are recognized in the tax code and are under the jurisdiction of family court.

Hawaii’s new Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie has promised to sign the civil unions legislation if approved, calling it a simple issue of civil rights.

And several other states saw legislative moves toward or away from equality in the past week.

New Hampshire:

State Rep. David Bates (R-Windham) and 11 cosponsors filed a bill that would repeal marriage equality and prevent New Hampshire from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples contracted outside the state. New Hampshire same-sex couples who married in the state before the bill became effective would continue to be recognized as married. Same-sex couples who married in another state would no longer be recognized.

The bill’s stated purpose is that, because most children “are conceived by acts of passion between men and women – sometimes unintentionally,” New Hampshire has “a unique, distinct, and compelling interest” in promoting committed marriages between men and women “so as to increase the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by both of their natural parents.”

That is the essentially the same argument used — unsuccessfully — by the defense in the federal district court trial that struck down California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.

State Rep. Leo Pepino (R-Manchester) and five cosponsors filed a separate bill that would repeal marriage equality and prohibit civil unions or any other form of legal recognition for same-sex couples.

The Associated Press reported January 25, however, that Pepino will ask the committee hearing the bill “to retain it until next year when they have more time.”

Bills cannot be killed in committee in New Hampshire, unlike in many other states. But a committee may choose to retain a bill for further study (in essence, tabling it), thus blocking consideration of it on the floor.

Governor John Lynch (D), who signed the original marriage equality bill into law, has said he would veto a repeal bill. But Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in both houses.

Mo Baxley, executive director of New Hampshire Freedom to Marry (NHFTM), said in an interview that she thinks supporters of the law can sustain the governor’s veto by finding supporters among older, more libertarian-leaning Republicans.

“It’s going to be a horse race,” said Baxley. She noted that the national gay marriage opposition group, D.C.-based National Organization for Marriage (NOM), spent over a million dollars trying to defeat Lynch in the last election, “and they want what they paid for.”

NOM is working in conjunction with an in-state group Cornerstone Action. Kevin Nix, director of communications for NHFTM, said that both NOM and Cornerstone are trying to “appear more tolerant,” and appeal to “people in the middle.”

“The public is solidly on our side,” Baxley asserted, but cautioned, “We can’t just presume that we’ve got the votes . . . .We’ve got to be full throttle out there.”

Baxley said that, with the state’s 400 House districts containing only about 3,100 people each, her group’s members are taking a “very grassroots” approach. They have been holding a series of town hall meetings with “a real mix” of attendees, gay and straight. They are also preparing for a public hearing on the bill.

She said state Republicans also plan to introduce a bill next year for a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. With a spotlight on New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, she said, a ballot fight in 2012 could help motivate a stronger conservative turnout.

Maryland:

Marriage equality bills were introduced into both the Senate and House in the past week. Democrats have a majority in both chambers. Governor Martin O’Malley (D) has said he would sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Co-sponsor Senator Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery) said in a press briefing January 21 that he expects a fight on the Senate floor and will need 29 votes out of 47 to break a filibuster. An up-or-down vote on the bill, after the filibuster is broken, will require 24 votes. Democrats have a 35 to 12 majority in the Senate.

A public hearing on the Senate bill is scheduled for February 8.

Elsewhere this past week:

Hawaii: The full Senate on January 28 passed a bill to legalize civil unions for same- and opposite-sex couples. It now heads to the House, where it is expected to pass. Governor Neil Abercrombie (D) has said he will sign it.

Illinois: Governor Pat Quinn (D) signed a civil union bill January 31 giving same- and opposite-sex couples many of the same rights as married ones.

Iowa: The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill January 24 that would allow voters to decide on a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex couples from marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships. A public hearing on the bill was scheduled for Monday, January 31.

In the Senate, however, Senator Kent Sorenson (R-Indianola) attempted to bypass Senate rules and bring to the floor a vote on the Senate version of the bill. Democrats, who hold a 26-24 majority, voted down the attempt. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) had said he would block a vote on the bill.

New Mexico: Three bills were introduced in the House and one in the Senate that would variously put before voters a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and ban New Mexico from recognizing such marriages enacted outside the state.

Wyoming: The House passed a measure January 25 to prevent the state from recognizing same-sex marriages contracted elsewhere. The next day, the state Senate passed a bill that would allow voters to decide whether to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

A civil union bill introduced by openly gay State Rep. Cathy Connolly (D-Laramie) failed by one vote to make it out of committee January 28. A separate bill by Connolly, for full marriage equality, died without a motion to vote.

The bill says unmarried, unrelated couples may have a judge or clergy solemnize their civil union, which will provide the same responsibilities and benefits of marriage under state law, reports KITV-TV.

The bill passed the full Senate 19-6.

The bill is nearly identical to a bill last year, only to be vetoed by then Gov. Linda Lingle, a Repblican.

Hawaii’s new Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie has promised to sign civil unions legislation if approved, calling it a simple issue of civil rights.

After Friday’s vote, the measure moves to the state House, where, leaders said they expect it to pass by a wide margin.

If passed into law, Hawaii would become the sixth state to grant essentially the same rights of marriage to same-sex couples, albeit without authorizing marriage itself.