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On Politics Richard Borreca |
Gay marriage is still
risky legislative businessDemocrats in the Legislature either took a step towards political maturity or suicide this week.
The decision to hear a bill that would allow civil unions and give all the rights of married couples to gay couples again opened the debate on same-sex marriage.
Hawaii was ground zero for the debate more than a decade ago when the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying violated the state Constitution's ban on sex discrimination.
Then in 1998 voters amended the Constitution to allow the state Legislature to restrict marriage to men and women. Since there was already a law on the books limiting the right to marry, the movement was halted, except for the political fire fight ignited by the topic.
Conservative candidates seized on same-sex marriage to attack liberal Democratic incumbents. In several cases the issue was a winner.
Some figure that at least seven incumbents were bounced from the Legislature because of their support for same-sex marriage or opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment.
This week's hearing's did not have the same media lure because it was quickly marched up the mountain and then marched back down. Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Eric Hamakawa held the hearing, but without a committee quorum he was unable to move the bill and it died.
"I wanted to give the committee a feeling for the pulse of the community and sense of where the issue stands in the community," Hamakawa said.
"There are arguments on both sides. I look at it as a civil rights issue, and others say it is a special right for a select group, so there is a philosophical divide," Hamakawa said.
It was predicted last year that gay marriage would pop up again in this year's election, but I had assumed it would be by opportunistic conservatives and not by a Democrat who faced a past challenge for past support for a civil union bill.
Hamakawa says the controversy comes with the position of Judiciary Committee chairman and the public discussion was good.
Other's in the Legislature are more shaken than sanguine by the move. Liberal Democrats, who already are looking to a hard campaign against well-financed and organized Republicans this fall, were hissing "Why did he do this?"
While running for governor in 2002, Linda Lingle said she backed the constitutional amendment, pointing out that so did 70 percent of the voters including most of Hawaii's Democratic leadership. Former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who lost to Lingle, was one of the few to oppose it.
Lingle last week declined to discuss the issue, but members of gay rights groups said that during the campaign, the governor promised them that she would not veto a civil union bill "if it came across my desk."
Of course, the bill isn't coming anywhere close to the Capitol's top floor this year, but the sound and fury will wash across every campaign this fall.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Richard Borreca writes on politics every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached at 525-8630 or by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com.
