Reciprocal benefits
reaction lukewarm

A poll finds residents don't have
strong feelings about the new law

By Linda Hosek
Star-Bulletin

The term "reciprocal beneficiary" won its official place in the state's vocabulary when the bill to extend rights to any two adults who can't legally marry became law July 8.

But the term hardly rolls off the tongues of residents, who don't appear to have strong feelings about the first state law of its kind in the country, according to the latest Honolulu Star-Bulletin Poll.

"I don't even know what they are," said Gene Erger, a retired resident of Waimea on the Big Island. "I don't remember reading about them."

Erger did recall discussion about a bill for same-sex rights, but not about benefits for others.

"I think that's too broad and too vague," he said, adding that he would support limited same-sex benefits, but not same-sex marriage.

The Star-Bulletin Poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Political Media Research Inc., surveyed 421 residents statewide June 6-10. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The survey found that 41.8 percent approved of the reciprocal-benefits bill; 46.8 percent disapproved of it; and only 17.3 percent would, or knew someone who would, sign up for benefits.

Strongest support came from Caucasians and Hawaiians or part-Hawaiians and renters, with all from 53 percent to 56 percent.

Strongest disapproval hovered at about 55 percent each among the 100 Japanese polled, the 54 Filipinos surveyed, and 105 neighbor island residents. About 49 percent of the 271 homeowners surveyed disapproved of extending rights.

With a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, the results show people fairly evenly split with no strong opinions, said Dan Foley, the attorney for the three same-sex couples who sued for the right to marry.

But the numbers also are premature, reflecting a public that doesn't know or understand the law, he said.

Judy Mikeska of Honolulu is an exception. Mikeska, a flooring representative, said she approved of the reciprocal beneficiary bill.

"I think it's fair that if people live in a way that the things they share go beyond finances, they should be covered on finances as well," she said.

She also said the bill should have been limited to same-sex couples because it grew out of efforts to extend benefits to them.

Dan Boylan, a University of Hawaii history professor at the West Oahu campus, said a clear discussion of the law will occur after the public discovers the costs of extending benefits.

"If it's costly and onerous, they are going to bellow loudly and we'll get a deep discussion in the press," he said.

Boylan said support for the law by Hawaiians fit into the Hawaiian philosophy of extended family.

The bill stemmed from an effort to stop same-sex marriage by providing same-sex benefits.

It was tied to a second bill that calls for a constitutional amendment to authorize the state Legislature to ban same-sex marriage.

Of those polled, 56 percent approved of the constitutional amendment, with strong support from Caucasian and Japanese residents. Approval was 53 percent among homeowners, but higher on neighbor islands at 60 percent.

Foley said the showing suggests that residents separate their opinions about same-sex marriage from their willingness to alter the state Constitution to get their way.

Previous polls have found that about 70 percent of registered voters oppose same-sex marriage, a substantial jump from what Foley described as a "bare majority" supporting an amendment.

Boylan said he doubted the public was concerned about altering its constitution. He said the fact that 56 percent would approve an amendment compared with 70 percent who oppose same-sex marriage suggests that fewer people may oppose same-sex marriage.

Boylan also said the 56 percent may reflect a public that wants the problem to go away and thinks it may have gone away -- at least temporarily -- with the reciprocal beneficiary bill. But he predicted the amendment authorizing the Legislature to ban same-sex marriage would pass and likely by a margin higher than the 56 percent in the poll.

Waimea resident Erger said he would vote for the amendment to stop same-sex marriage, but added: "I'd hate to put the decision in the Legislature's hands."