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EUROPEAN CRUISE
Running for cover
W e arrive early for
Wayne Boulette turopride 97 “ Pari'
Hoping the whole tsunami will blow over, Hawaii moves
to ban sam e-sex marriage— but grants rights and benefits
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T
G atew ay Express
by Inga Sorensen
ompromise, cop out or politics as
usual?
It depends on whom you talk to.
One thing is for sure, however,
when it comes to same-sex marriage,
nothing is simple. Hawaii state legislators proved
that when they passed a bill that would make
Hawaii the first state to grant gay and lesbian
couples a slew of rights and benefits currently
enjoyed by married couples, including spousal
benefits for insurance and state pensions, inherit­
ance rights, and the right to sue for wrongful death.
Simultaneously, lawmakers passed out legis­
lation that places a proposed state constitutional
amendment that could bar same-sex marriage on
the 1998 general election ballot.
That proposal says the Legislature has the
right to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples.
The amendment gained unanimous Senate
approval and passed in the House by a 45-6 vote.
(A couple of representatives who voted against
the spirit of aloha,” House Judiciary Committee
Chairman Terrance Tom, a key negotiator on the
benefits bill, told The Associated Press.
Hawaii’s tolerance will indeed be tested in
November 1998, when voters consider the consti­
tutional amendment which would allow the Leg­
islature to bar same-sex marriages.
Some lawmakers who backed the amendment
say they did so because they believe the state
Supreme Court erred in its interpretation of the
Hawaii Constitution when it ruled that denying
marriage licenses to three same-sex couples in
1990 was unconstitutional gender discrimination.
In that landmark 1993 ruling, the court said the
state must show a compelling reason for denying
the licenses.
Following a trial this past September, a Circuit
Court judge ruled the state had failed to do so, and
the case remains on appeal before the state Su­
preme Court.
In response, Congress passed the Defense of
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SE E LIS FO R A L L YOLIR C O L L IS IO N R E P A IR N E E D S
Two o f the three Hawaiian couples who are suing fo r the right to marry': Tammy Rodrigues (left)
and Antoinette Pregil; Patrick Lagon (left) and Joseph Melillo
the bill voiced concern that religious groups were
imposing their morality on state law.)
The “reciprocal beneficiaries” bill passed in
the House on April 29 by a 41 -10 vote; the Senate
approved that bill a week earlier.
Tagged as a compromise, the measures gained
final approval during the last hours of the legisla­
tive session.
Gov. Ben Cayetano is expected to sign both
bills into law. If he does so, the benefits bill takes
effect July 1. The amendment, meanwhile, would
take effect only if approved by voters next year.
The “reciprocal beneficiaries” bill extends
certain rights enjoyed by heterosexual married
couples not only to same-sex couples, but to other
nonmarried pairs living together, such as adult
blood relatives who share housing. The cost of
registering a reciprocal beneficiary relationship
is the same as Hawaii’s marriage license fee.
“Hawaii has a long and proud history of toler­
ance and protection of minority rights [which is]
a natural expression of a multiracial, multicultural
society whose beliefs we in Hawaii describe as
Marriage Act to deny federal recognition of same-
sex marriages and allow states not to recognize
same-sex unions licensed in other states. Presi­
dent Clinton signed it in September.
The case, Baehr vs. Miike, is scheduled to be
heard by Hawaii’s high court in June.
Tom says he hopes the court will hold off on
its decision until voters have a chance to consider
the amendment.
“To act before the people have a chance to
speak would rock the very foundations of our
government,” he says.
Some gay-and-lesbian-rights supporters have
denounced both bills.
Tracey Bennett of the Marriage Project-
Hawaii, which promotes the legalization of same-
sex marriages, blasted lawmakers for swapping a
few benefits “for allowing the tyranny of the
majority to prevail.”
The Hawaii case has prompted legislatures
throughout the nation (including Oregon and
Washington) to consider measures prohibiting
equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
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