Hawaii Legislature to Consider Legalizing Gay Marriage in Special Session

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) has called for a special legislative session to push forward the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to Honolulu's KITV News. The call for the session signals that he has most likely gained the necessary votes to pass the bill.

Abercrombie announced the session, which will begin on October 28, at a news conference on Monday afternoon.

Democrats have majorities in both the House and the Senate, although some Democrats do not support the bill.

David Louie, the Hawaii Attorney General, said that same-sex marriage licenses could be available as soon as November 18 if the state legislature pushes the legislation forward. "We've taken into account many different views, and I believe that we have a very good bill that should meet favor," Louie said.

Hawaii was one of the first states to ban same-sex marriage in 1998. But in 2011, civil unions were legalized, marking a significant change in public opinion. Now, with Democrats having 44 of 51 House seats and 24 of the 25 seats in the Senate, the state is likely to fully reverse the ban and grant full legal marriage rights to same-sex couples.

"The merits of holding a special session include the opportunity for the legislature to focus squarely on this important issue, without having to divert attention to the hundreds of other bills introduced during a regular session," Abercrombie said in a statement.

Abercrombie has been pressured by pro-gay marriage lobbyists to call for a special session since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that the federal government must allow marriage benefits to same-sex couples.

The governor has said that he respects both sides of the issue, but that he feels that after 20 years of contentious debate, it is finally time to grant gay individuals the rights that they deserve.

"I'm confident that whether it advances or not is not the issue," Abercrombie said. "The question is whether people believe that they have been treated fairly and respectfully."

The current draft legislation would provide exemptions to churches and other religious organizations. As of now, the legislation states that churches could deny their facilities for certain marriage services, i.e., same-sex marriages, but that the facilities would still have to adhere to the state's public accommodations law.

"The general concern is that as long as a religious entity is using its facilities for commercial purposes, then it shouldn't be protected, and that's what we're grappling with right now," said Rep. Scott Saiki, the House Democratic majority leader who is a supporter of same-sex marriage.

Rep. Bob McDermott, a Republican who is against the same-sex marriage bill, said churches could lose revenue if they want to ban gay couples from renting their facilities for marriage ceremonies and/or receptions.

"If a church has a social hall and they rent it to the VFW, war heroes, now they have to rent it to homosexual groups because it's a civil right," McDermott said.

If gay marriage is legalized in the state of Hawaii, it will join 13 other states and the District of Columbia in legalizing gay marriage. Couples who are already in a civil union will be able to apply for a marriage license.