Hawaii legislature gives final nod to legalizing gay marriage

HONOLULU (Reuters) - The Hawaii Senate gave final legislative
approval on Tuesday to a bill extending marriage rights to same-
sex couples in a state popular as a wedding and honeymoon
destination and regarded as a pioneer in advancing the cause of
gay matrimony.
The measure cleared the Democratic-controlled state Senate on a
19-4 vote to cheers and applause from hundreds of supporters
in flowered garland leis who filled the visitor galleries and the
Capitol rotunda.
Hundreds more danced for joy on the sidewalks in front of the
Capitol building.
Governor Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat who called a special
session to consider the bill, is expected to sign it into law on
Wednesday, an aide to the governor said. That would make
Hawaii the 15th U.S. state to legalize gay marriage.
The measure, set to take effect on December 2, rolls back a 1994
statute defining marriage as a union between a man and a
woman.
President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, hailed passage
of the bill in a statement.
"Whenever freedom and equality are affirmed, our country
becomes stronger," said Obama, the first U.S. president to
support gay marriage. "By giving loving gay and lesbian couples
the right to marry if they choose, Hawaii exemplifies the values
we hold dear as a nation."
Amended in the state House of Representatives last week to
strengthen exemptions for clergy and religious groups, the
measure easily cleared the Senate with the body's lone
Republican joining three Democrats in opposing it. Two other
Democrats were absent.
The path to legal gay marriage in Hawaii has been long and
bumpy. The state's Supreme Court ruled two decades ago that
barring same-sex nuptials was discriminatory in a landmark
opinion that propelled the gay rights movement nationwide.
That ruling also sparked a backlash that has until now kept
marriage limited to heterosexual couples in Hawaii.
The reversal by Hawaii lawmakers comes at a time of increasing
momentum for gay marriage in the courts, at the ballot box and
in statehouses across the United States.
The trend has gained steam since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in
June that married same-sex couples are eligible for federal
benefits, striking down a key part of the 1996 federal Defense of
Marriage Act. In a separate ruling the same day, the high court
paved the way for lifting a ban on gay marriage in California.
The justices stopped short in both 5-4 decisions of declaring a
nationwide right to same-sex marriage. Proponents and
opponents of gay marriage have vowed to continue their battle
state by state.
SPEAKING OF FAITH
A state court judge last week refused a request from opponents
for a temporary restraining order to block action on the
legislation but said he would examine the constitutionality of the
bill once it was enacted.
Allowing gays to marry has been vehemently opposed in Hawaii
by religious conservatives, as elsewhere in the country.
"You can try to force people to do something they don't believe
in, but you can't make it so," Republican state Senator Sam Slom
said before the vote.
Supporters say the Hawaii bill was crafted to address concerns
that legalizing same-sex marriage would infringe on religious
freedoms. The bill explicitly exempts clergy from having to
perform gay weddings if doing so would conflict with their
religious beliefs.
It also grants immunity from administrative, civil and legal
liability to religious organizations and officials for refusing to
provide goods and services, or their facilities or grounds, for
same-sex weddings and related events.
"This is about government recognizing two individuals -
government, not churches," said Democratic state Senator Will
Espero during the debate.
In 2003, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to permit gay
marriage. A year ago, only six states and the District of Columbia
recognized gay marriage. That number has since more than
doubled, due in most cases to litigation over the issue.
Three states - Maine, Maryland and Washington - became the first
to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples by popular vote
with passage of ballot initiatives last November.
Last month, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dropped his
legal opposition to gay marriage, making his state the 14th to
legalize same-sex weddings.
Illinois lawmakers gave final approval to a same-sex marriage bill
on November 5, and Governor Pat Quinn is expected to sign that
measure into law this month.
The debate has long divided Hawaii. In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme
Court ruled it was discriminatory to deny marriage rights to
same-sex couples.
But the legislature voted the following year to restrict marriage to
heterosexual couples, passing a law at odds with the courts. And
in 1998, Hawaii voters took the courts out of the equation by
approving a constitutional amendment giving the legislature
power to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.
Abercrombie, who served more than two decades in the U.S.
Congress before running for governor in 2010, signed a same-
sex civil unions bill into law two years ago. His predecessor,
Republican Linda Lingle, vetoed a civil unions bill in 2010.