The civil unions bill lingering in the Legislature since last year appears dead this session after the state House — concerned about political repercussions in an election year— postponed any action on the bill indefinitely.

House Speaker Calvin Say said yesterday he polled all 51 members of the House, Democrats and Republicans, before coming to his decision not to move the bill forward.

Members affirmed the decision by an anonymous voice vote.

Supporters screamed “;Roll call”; and “;Cowards”; as they left the gallery, prompting lawmakers to call a recess while order was restored.

“;You can call me a coward, but we are all not cowards,”; Say said afterward. “;We'll make our make tough decisions as we go ahead, but members were concerned, and that was my role as the speaker — to make that determination and decision to do what we did today.”;

House Bill 444 would have granted same-sex couples in a civil union all of the rights and benefits as married couples.

Say (D, St. Louis Heights-Palolo Valley-Wilhelmina Rise) said all along he did not want to proceed on the bill unless he had support from 34 of 51 members, the number needed to override a possible governor's veto.

Although 33 members supported the proposal last year, Say said the number appeared to be closer to 26 or 27 this time around because of political pressure in an election year.

“;I would say it is dividing the community,”; he said. “;I just didn't want to have it linger on all the way through session.”;

The measure passed the Senate last week with two-thirds support, 18-7.

“;I felt it was a political strategy on their part to throw the hot plate back to us, and I make the final decision — the tough, difficult decision in doing what I thought was the right thing for everyone in the state House of Representatives,”; Say said.

Gov. Linda Lingle, who has not said whether she supports civil unions, said she felt lawmakers made the right move in postponing the bill.

“;I felt from the beginning of this year that we needed to keep a clear focus on the economy, so I'm glad they can stay focused on that,”; Lingle said. “;Something so divisive at the very beginning of the session wouldn't be a good thing.”;

Lt. Gov. James “;Duke”; Aiona, a staunch opponent of the civil unions bill, issued a statement declaring a “;temporary victory.”;

“;The state Legislature will continue to play political hot potato with the institution of marriage until the people of Hawaii are allowed to vote on it once and for all,”; he said.

Some of the harshest criticism of House members focused on the anonymity behind the voice vote. A mix of cheers and catcalls echoed from the standing-room-only House gallery as Vice Speaker Michael Magaoay ruled that the motion to postpone had passed.

Advocates later joined hands in song in the Capitol courtyard with a chorus of “;We Shall Overcome”; while opponents remained inside the chamber gallery.

“;They hid behind a voice vote,”; said Alan Spector, legislative affairs co-chairman for the group Equality Hawaii. “;A House that passed our bill last session with one vote shy of the supermajority just killed it, and they don't even have the integrity and courage to let their vote go on record.

“;The fight isn't over. We do not go away. We know we will ultimately prevail because the Constitution is on our side.”;

    Civil unions bill postponed indefinitely

 

 

 

[ Watch ]

 

Opponents of civil unions, dressed in white shirts with red “;iVote”; button stickers, loudly applauded as the session ended and later spilled into the courtyard after advocates had dissipated.

Dennis Arakaki, a former state representative and now head of Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference, agreed the fight was not over.

“;Certainly it's not an issue that's going to go away,”; he said, adding the groups were pleased at getting out their message.

“;No. 1, they don't want civil unions or same-sex marriage, but they definitely want the Legislature to concentrate on more pressing issues like our children's education, the economy and creating jobs,”; he said. “;These are the issues they need to take care of that affect a lot more people.”;