Gay marriage ban
in voters’ hands
O P P O N E N T S:
‘This is definitely a victory for our side’
S U P P O R T E R S:
‘It's a sorry day for civil rights’By Star-Bulletin staff
Opponents of same-sex marriage declared a victory today after House and Senate conferees agreed last night to let voters decide on a constitutional amendment. The amendment, which could appear on the November 1998 ballot, would give lawmakers the right to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples.
At the same time, the conference committee decided to extend some 50 state marital rights and benefits to couples who register as reciprocal beneficiaries, a category open to gays and lesbians, as well as any two people who cannot legally wed.
Mike Gabbard, chairman of the Alliance for Traditional Marriage, said his group would push to have the ballot measure approved by the legislature.
"Though this is definitely a victory for our side, our feeling is subdued -- there'll be no dancing in the streets for us, at least not yet. We still have to make sure we have the two-thirds majority in the House and Senate," Gabbard said in a written statement this morning.
Civil libertarians and advocates of same-sex marriage decried the House and Senate compromise, noting earlier court rulings said gay men and lesbians were entitled to equal protection and treatment.
They accused the Senate, which up to now had battled against an amendment, of subjecting them to the "tyranny of the majority" while offering less than full benefits in return.
"Where are the rest?" asked a tearful Tracey Bennett, lobbyist for Marriage Project Hawaii.
"I don't see this as extending benefits, I see it as withholding benefits."
Honolulu attorney Dan Foley, who represents three same-sex couples seeking state marriage licenses, said the conferees decided to give his clients third-class citizenship.
"It's a slap in the face," he said. "It's a statement by this legislature that law-abiding, tax-paying gay and lesbian citizens of this state should not have equal protection under the law."
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national gay and lesbian civil rights organization, issued a statement this morning that said the Hawaii same-sex marriage case remains "fully on track."
Meanwhile, Debi Hartmann of Hawaii's Future Today -- a group led by Mormons and Roman Catholics opposed to same-gender marriage -- said the main goal of getting an amendment on the ballot apparently has been achieved.
"I think the polls have shown that the vote is there, that the will of the people is clear," she said.
She said her group didn't take a hard stand on benefits, but Gabbard said he remains opposed to granting any benefits to same-gender couples.
The proposed amendment reads, "The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."
To get on the November 1998 ballot, both chambers must approve it by a two-thirds vote this session, or a majority vote in two consecutive sessions.
The benefits package needs a majority vote, and would go into effect in July if signed by Gov. Ben Cayetano.
The compromise marks a significant point in the same-sex marriage debate, which has spread across the country during the past four years as the state Legislature struggled to find a way to forestall an expected Hawaii Supreme Court decision that would allow same-gender marriage.
"I believe that the nation will be watching closely to learn the results of our efforts, and I hope that our decisions will serve as a model for the rest of the nation in resolving these difficult issues," said House Judiciary Chair Terrance Tom (D, Kahaluu-Kaneohe).
Senate Judiciary Co-Chair Matt Matsunaga (D, Waialae-Palolo) called the negotiations in the contentious issue long, hard and tough, and said the time has come for the healing process to begin.
Senate President Norman Mizuguchi's presence at the meeting indicated to some that the needed votes are there.
House Speaker Souki also planned to be present, but returned to Maui because of his mother-in-law's death, according to a staff member.
Senate Judiciary Co-Chair Avery Chumbley today said he expected some dissent in both chambers on the bills, but that enough support will be there.
"I would expect there will be a two-thirds vote in both bodies on the constitutional amendment, and I would expect that (the benefits) will pass," Chumbley said as he headed to sign committee reports for the bills.
Tom said this morning he also expected enough support to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot and approve the benefits package.
To reach last night's compromise, negotiators had to clear some final hurdles.
The House was worried about the potential fiscal impact of government health benefits, and the Senate wanted to ensure that nontraditional couples would still have access to the courts to fight for further rights.
Tom said the House still is concerned about costs, but agreed to extend state and county health benefits for two years, with lawmaker approval needed to extend them beyond that.
Matsunaga said the amendment, and its preamble and committee report, are worded so that further court action is not foreclosed -- an assertion challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union.
"They've limited access of the people to the courts for any relief," said Hawaii Executive Director Vanessa Chong. "It's a sorry day for civil rights."
Both sides in the dispute said their next mission is to educate the electorate about the amendment. Lawmakers expressed hope the issue would not be divisive, but there were signs only minutes after the meeting adjourned that it could be.
Outside the committee room, Rep. Paul Whalen (R, South Kona-North Kona) -- who had said health benefits were being given to "people who can take care of themselves" at the expense of welfare recipients and the disabled -- got into an argument with Ward Stewart, 67, a gay Waikiki resident.
"Why am I discounted?" Stewart demanded.
"If you want to discuss it, we can discuss it sometime," Whalen said.
"I want an answer," Stewart said. "What am I, less than a human being?"
Whalen started explaining his feelings about marriage and discrimination, but walked off when voices were raised.
"Walk away, schmuck," Stewart yelled after him. "You want to discuss, discuss. Cowardly creep."
Said Foley, who saw the scene: "The healing process has begun already. Can't you just feel it in the air?"
Conferees are scheduled to sign committee reports today.
State may become
By Star-Bulletin staff
national battlegroundJon Goldberg-Hiller was in Oregon in 1992 when Measure 9 appeared on the ballot. The proposal would have declared homosexuality "wrong, unnatural and perverse," and it split the state apart.
Voters in the end rejected it, but not before emotions turned into "a great deal of violence against gays and lesbians," he recalled.
Goldberg-Hiller, a political science professor at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, now is worried about the Aloha State.
With a constitutional amendment allowing legislators to ban same-sex marriage heading toward voter ratification next year, he is apprehensive the same tensions may emerge here.
Already he sees the seeds of ill will in taunts and signs condemning homosexuality.
"What life would be like if an amendment were on the ballot is something I think would be horrific," he said.
If the experience in other states is any indication, Goldberg-Hiller's concern may be well founded.
Political analysts here say the proposed amendment approved by a legislative conference committee yesterday has the potential of becoming a hot-button that affects not only the issue itself, but also the campaigns of all 51 state House members and 13 senators who face election next year.
Strategist Jim Loomis, who guided the 1996 campaigns of U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, said it is a "very likely prospect" the same-sex marriage issue could dominate the elections, overriding a candidate's ability, overall record of accomplishments or stand on other topics.
"The one issue, whatever the issue is -- gun control, abortion -- it's all emotional, there's very little logic or rational thought that goes into it," he said.
The fear of polarizing the community was one of the reasons cited by senators last year for opposing the House's push for an amendment. With the same-gender marriage debate stretching across the country and even to Congress with the Defense of Marriage Act, analysts now feel Hawaii could become a national battleground, with both advocates and opponents pouring money and organizational talents into the state.
"This is too important an agenda item for the religious right, and it's too important a defense for those in favor of same-sex marriage to let it go by," said UH Political Science Professor Neal Milner. "I think they'll be here."
Goldberg-Hiller thinks the Democratic majority's attempt to show it is taking action on the issue stands a good chance of backfiring.
He said mainland Republicans have been very successful in capitalizing on divisive issues and leveraging them into more legislative seats, and Hawaii could end up with a much more conservative make-up.
Benefits extended to reciprocal beneficiaries include: Benefits package
Survivorship rights, including inheritance, workers compensation survivorship, state employees retirement beneficiary benefits.
Same-sex archive
