Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle addresses reporters after vetoing a civil union bill Tuesday.
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has vetoed a bill that would have given same-sex and heterosexual couples in civil unions the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage under state law, calling it unconstitutional.
Governor Lingle said the government should not be in the role of making this decision, suggesting that gay marriage advocates put it on the 2012 ballot as a constitutional amendment.
News of the veto was met with roars of approval from anti-civil-union protesters outside the state capitol.
Hawaii voters approved a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as being only between a man a woman.
The Christian Science Monitor reports that many gay rights advocates are planning on a boycott of the Hawaii tourist industry, or even sue the state, in retaliation.
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I’m sure there are plenty of high-fives going around at the offices of the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and all the other groups that so viciously oppose ANY legal benefits for Gay couples, especially civil unions for Gay couples in Hawaii. So to them, congratulations, you helped issue Gay couples in that state a setback … for now. I still take comfort in knowing that sooner or later Gay and Straight couples in the U.S. will be treated equally. And when that happens, I promise that it will have precisely ZERO impact on your life, your marriage, your church, and your children. Your church will never be forced to marry Gay couples, any more than it is forced to marry non-Christian couples. Public schools will not be forced to “teach” about Gay marriage, any more than they are forced to teach about Straight marriage. And at last, Gay couples will finally be able take part in the legal benefits, protections, and responsibilities that our tax dollars have been helping to subsidize throughout the history of this country.
While it’s true that the Constitution doesn’t define “marriage,” the federal government has complicated the issue by taking a vested interest in married couples for the purposes of tax law and Social Security (among the 1,138 legal benefits, protections, and responsibilities that are automatically bestowed on couples once they marry). Therefore this is not an issue that can be left up to the states to decide individually, since it wouldn’t do for a Gay couple that is legally married in Iowa, for instance, to become automatically UN-married once they decide to move somewhere else.
Religious beliefs are irrelevant, because (1) the United States is not theocracy, and (2) churches will continue to be free to conduct or deny ceremonies to whomever they want.
Procreation and parenting are irrelevant, since couples do not have to marry to have children, and the ability or even desire to have children is not a prerequisite for getting a marriage license.
This is simply a matter of equal treatment under the law. Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but it’s really as simple as that.
The quest for marriage equality by Gay couples has absolutely nothing to do with Straight (i.e. heterosexual) couples. Nothing is changing for them. Nothing is happening to “traditional marriage.” Most people are Straight, and they will continue to date, get engaged, marry and build lives and families together as they always have. None of that will change by allowing Gay couples to do the same. This is really not any sort of a “sea change” for marriage, since the only difference between Gay and Straight couples is the gender of the two persons in the relationship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo
Homosexuality was considered a mental defect until political correctness reared its ugly head. Thousands of psychologists from around the globe were suddenly “wrong”. Amazing!
Just another lesson of how diversity and acceptance isn’t natural.
At last a politician with half a brain. Maybe more.
Why don't they all emigrate to the west side of the Dead Sea in the Middle East. After all they did have 5 cities of like minded rear-shaggers there before. Who knows maybe Yahweh will even send them a great fire storm from the sky there once again.
Bigots!
Hey, this is great. Remember when Miss Hawaii did the Hula Hula and became Miss America? Real women doing the Hula Hula. Now Hawaii can truly attract tourists. Business will boom.
Biblically speaking, homosexuality is a sin according to scripture. You can do disgustingly sinful things like sue an entire state for not letting homos marry but that won’t make homosexuality not a sin. So, if they threaten to boycott or sue a state, just turn around and tell them “good I’ll see you in the courtroom,” and “If you want to boycott this state, good riddens to all you homos and fomos.”
klt, you do realize that the scripture that you’re speaking of was written thousands of years ago and for those times. i think it needs a serious update…
Nice to see that you people consider yourselves rightful to judge others. I hope someday you get to see from someone else's eyes. Till then I think you all should be more conserned with yourselves.
gays are just people too we all are the same and should be treated the same do we all not bleed or eat or drink or die or breath do we all not love???? do we also not all feelings ???why judge us for our ways of life we all deserve to be happy what ever we choice we dont bother anyone just because people feel to judge us as different well then maybe we should judge the straight marriages say that if we gays and be happy together we should others get the right to be happy together we all are humans and all should recieve the rigths to be happy and together legally so that we can share our lives together equally as one too..this laws in the matters is totally unconstitutional let us be happy and if u haters dont like it so what then dont bother our happyiness or us and we wont bother u or maybe we should try to destroy ur straight happiness lives ???truth is our love for our selfs being gay together and happy must like offend u all out there because ur marriages ur unhappy and hate to see us happy god says thall shall not judge that its for him to do…and not u..and if u dare to bring up the section of lieing with another of same sex well under that same paragragh area in bible staties also people who have sex before marriage people who have sex before cleaning themselves and not cleaning themselves after sex and so on all in the same paragragh our considered sinners …so even u straights have fallen into the same paragragh in the bible read it and considered sin which is forgiveable have nice time we will get our rigths one day and be happy not like u all
The constitutional amendment in 1998 simply left the power of reserving marriage to opposite couples *to the state Legislature.* It did NOT define it or outlaw it. I’m so tired of hearing this mistake over and over again.