The court battle over whether Hawaii should legalize same-sex marriages has focused extraordinary attention on the islands.

It has prompted 15 states to ban such marriages and sparked emotional debate in Congress as it considers the Defense of Marriage Act, which would give states the authority to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

With the nonjury trial set to open Tuesday in Circuit Court, the attention is intensifying, particularly among gay and civil rights groups, conservative "pro-family" groups and the legal community.

"Hawaii is ground zero for the issue of gay marriage," said Denny Lee of the American Civil Liberties Union's national office in New York.

Other key observers agree.

Jim Woodall, chief executive officer of the Concerned Women for America, a 600,000-member pro-family organization in Washington, said: "There's a cultural battle going on and the epicenter is in Honolulu."

Chai Feldblum, a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and legal counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, said lawyers across the country are watching the case closely.

The ACLU has provided legal aid to the attorneys for the gay couple pressing the case.

The Family Research Council, a Washington advocacy group, has filed a brief arguing against gay marriages.

A decision is not likely for months, and it is almost sure to be appealed. "It's the first of its kind, so naturally it's more interesting," said Kim Mills of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, a gay political organization.

Hers and other gay rights groups hope the Honolulu case will lead to other states legalizing gay marriages.

Robert H. Knight, director of cultural studies for the Family Research Council, said legal marriages in Hawaii "would do great damage to the institution of marriage."

He said he expects Hawaii to approve same-sex marriages, which is why, he said, other states and the federal government should pass laws banning such marriages.

Woodall of the Concerned Women for America called the Hawaii case "a perfect example of a court's really abusing the authority of the courts by forcing something down people's throats."

When the organization has its annual national convention here this month, Woodall said, members will be briefed on the Honolulu case. "Everybody's extremely interested in Hawaii, of course," he said.

In the legal community, the Hawaii case has prompted a spate of articles in legal journals and piqued the interest of such high-powered attorneys as Harvard University's Laurence Tribe, who weighed in with an opinion for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., on the Senate's gay marriage bill.

Georgetown's Feldblum said the case intrigues lawyers because of the Hawaii court's novel use of sex discrimination as a factor in determining whether gay couples can marry and because of arguments surrounding the "full faith and credit" clause of the Constitution.

Many believe that a legal marriage in Hawaii will have to be recognized as legal in all states because of the full faith and credit clause, which compels states to honor such things as marriage and drivers licenses from other states.

"I suspect this will go to the Supreme Court," said Feldblum.

Some look at the trial as the latest step in an extraordinary evolution of public attitudes toward gays.

"This is a significant and historic moment in the lesbian and gay community," said Robert Bray of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

"It has repercussions way beyond just the case. It's about lesbian and gay families, and their rights in the society."

But no matter how the case turns out, said Bray, it has caused what was once unthinkable: a serious national debate and front-page headlines about a subject that was taboo little more than a decade ago. "Regardless of how the case in Hawaii is ruled, the debate will continue," said Bray.

While the prospect of Hawaii legalizing gay marriages has prompted talk of boycotting the state as a tourist destination, even conservative leaders now consider the prospect unlikely.

Even those most opposed to gay marriage say they realize that the Hawaii courts, not Hawaii residents or their elected representatives, are making the decision.

Knight said the reaction of Hawaii residents who oppose gay marriage "has forestalled any boycott effort."

The upcoming Circuit Court trial involving same-sex marriage may involve precedent-shattering legal decisions, but news organizations aren't exactly flocking to the scene.

As of Wednesday, 14 press passes had been issued by the Judiciary public affairs office to cover the trial. Of these, nine were issued to Oahu news organizations, two to the Court TV cable channel, one to a CBS magazine producer, one to a local freelancer for the Los Angeles Times and one to a reporter from the Washington Blade.

"The Blade is a great newspaper, one of the best in the country when it comes to covering gay and lesbian issues," said reporter Tania Jo Ingrahm, who is covering the trial for Island Lifestyle, a Honolulu-based gay/lesbian publication.

"I'm not surprised they're sending someone. And the Advocate (a widely distributed gay/lesbian journal based in Los Angeles) wants us to send them stuff every day."

Faraway news organizations will depend on news "wire" reporters for coverage.

The trial will also be reported via the Internet and be available all over the world. In addition to the online Honolulu Star-Bulletin (http://starbulletin.com), Island Lifestyle will have information available via their web site (http://www.tnight.com/ilm), as will the Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project (http://www.tnight.com/hermp).