Hawaii Poised to Offer Civil Unions

A bill creating same-sex civil unions in Hawaii cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when it was narrowly approved by a key state Senate committee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the legislation with a 3-2 vote following 2� hours of passionate testimony from opponents wearing white shirts with buttons declaring "civil unions equals same-sex marriage" and supporters bearing rainbow lei.

"This is a matter of civil rights. We would no longer feel that we're second-class citizens," testified Gary Okabayashi of Honolulu, who has been in a relationship with his partner for 32 years. "We would have a sense of pride and integrity because the state has finally recognized us as equal."

Democrats, who control the Hawaii Legislature, said they plan to pass the bill quickly and send it to new Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat who supports civil unions.

The bill is nearly identical to a measure that passed the Legislature last year before it was vetoed by Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.

It would grant both same-sex and opposite-sex couples the ability to enter into a civil union with the same state rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage.

Advocates of civil unions said November's elections showed that voters supported candidates who backed equal rights for gay and lesbian couples. Only one incumbent state legislator who backed civil unions lost re-election.

Opponents said legal recognition of gay partnerships would put the state on a path toward same-sex marriage.

"It will erode parental rights and undermine the building blocks of society, which is the family unit - father, mother and children," Halley Hobson of Ewa Beach told the committee.

Testimony was limited to 90 seconds per person, resulting in a much quicker hearing than the 18-hour marathon meeting held by the same committee two years ago, when its members reached a 3-3 tie vote.

If the latest bill becomes law, Hawaii would become the sixth state to grant some of the rights of marriage to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself. A civil unions bill also passed the Illinois Legislature last month.

Five states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage.

Many of those testifying against civil unions cited their religious faith as a reason they couldn't accept the government starting a new category of partnership that's different from the traditional family.

"In my love for God ... I cannot stand by idly in some misguided or blind sense of tolerance and allow this bill to pass," said Mark Brians of Honolulu.

The Hawaii measure will next go to a vote in the full Senate, which approved a similar measure last year on an 18-7 vote. If passed, the legislation would move to the House for further consideration.

Hawaii nearly legalized gay marriages more than a decade ago. A Hawaii Supreme Court decision would have allowed the practice, but 70 percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1998 allowing the Legislature to reserve marriage for opposite-sex couples.