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Hawaii's Senate Approves Civil Unions Bill

by Rhonda J Mangus | January 23, 2010 at 03:57 am

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Hawaii's Senate approved a Civil Unions bill by a vote of 18-7 on Friday. The Civil Unions bill, HB 444 SD1, extends the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, the final vote came after an amendment to change the effective date, which would have retroactively enacted civil unions, of the legislation failed to garner enough votes to pass.

The state house will now consider the amended bill, HB 444 SD1, which contains the changed effective date. If passed by both the house and a conference committee, the bill would then head to Gov. Linda Lingle’s desk. Though she may veto the bill, the legislature's Democratic majority may have enough votes to override her veto, according to the Associated Press.

“This particular fight for HB 444 has spanned more than two years, but is just one more step in the decade’s long struggle for equality that so many residents of Hawaii have sought,” Alan Spector, legislative affairs cochair for Equality Hawaii, said in a statement. “The road has been long and the fight has been emotional, but today we’re one step closer to providing equal rights and responsibilities to all of Hawaii’s loving couples and their families.”

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Uwe Paschen

at 04:20 on January 23rd, 2010

Can this stand on its own or does it need Federal approval?

Rhonda J Mangus

at 04:36 on January 23rd, 2010

Thank you, Paschen!

"Can this stand on its own or does it need Federal approval?"

In the United States, civil marriage is governed by state law. Each state is free to set the conditions for a valid marriage, subject to limits set by the state's own constitution and the U.S. Constitution. In fact, "[T]he State . . . has absolute right to prescribe the conditions upon which the marriage relation between its own citizens shall be created, and the causes for which it may be dissolved," Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1877).

Uwe Paschen

at 05:28 on January 23rd, 2010

Thank you Rhonda for the info, I was asking because in the German system, even though the State or rather called "Land" have each their own constitutions and laws, they do have to submit to the Federal Constittutions and laws if theirs are in conflict with the Feds.

Example, in the Land of Hessen the Constitution and laws allow for the death penalty, however, Hessen can not enforce its laws nor sentence any one because the Federal Laws prohibite the death penalty and since Fedral Laws outweigh State laws and Constitutions the State has to submit to the Federal will even though on paper it can maintain its own laws, even though they conflict with the Federal Constitution and/or laws.