Following a special session of the Hawaii state Legislature that for two weeks turned the state Capitol into a high-spirited exhibition of populous democracy, Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Nov. 13 signed the bill causing all the commotion and made Hawaii the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage.
In reaction to the bill’s passage, Hawaii Bishop Larry Silva, who had vigorously opposed the legislation, called same-sex marriage a “manufactured civil right” that is “symptomatic of a profound misunderstanding of the purpose of human sexuality.”
“It is very sad that many of our State legislators and our Governor have confused a manufactured civil right with a true civil right based on the centuries-old respect for marriage as a stable union between one man and one woman established and publicly recognized primarily for the welfare of children,” the bishop said in a Nov. 13 statement.
The bill, SB 1, gives married same-sex couples the same benefits and responsibilities as opposite-sex married couples in Hawaii while protecting, to a degree, clergy and religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage from having to provide services or facilities for same-sex ceremonies.
Couples will be able to get married starting Dec. 2.
Statement from Washington
In a statement released in Washington, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, called Hawaii’s decision to change “the meaning of marriage” disappointing and said it showed “the need for rebuilding a culture of the family in our country.”
“When referring to the family,” the archbishop said, “Pope Francis put it this way: ‘I think first and foremost of the stable union of man and woman in marriage.’ The very point of marriage having the unique status in the law that it has is to promote the right of children to have a mother and a father.
“Only a married man and woman can provide that. The question we need to ask ourselves is this: How can we honestly justify a law that in principle denies children this right?”
Illinois was poised to become the 15th state to legalize same sex-marriage, as lawmakers passed a final measure there Nov. 5, but Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has not yet signed it into law.
In his remarks at the bill’s signing before a gathering of same-sex marriage supporters, Gov. Abercrombie acknowledged the religious component of the debate asserting that the bill balanced personal and religious freedoms.
Quoting the state and U.S. constitutions, plus a couple of the Founding Fathers and others, he called the same-sex bill “the epitome of the first amendment in action.”
He praised lawmakers who, he said, put aside personal beliefs for the public interest.
“We all have special interests,” he said. “This bill is a special interest. It is a special interest that manifests the public interest and not a private interest.”
The state Legislature passed SB 1 on Nov. 12 with a 19-4 vote of the state Senate. The bill had previously cleared the Senate on Oct. 29 and was amended and passed 30-19 by the state House of Representatives on Nov. 8.
Bishop Silva ended his statement on a hopeful note: “We pray that we will be able to restore marriage and family to their true place in God’s plan for humanity.”
He also thanked those who fought unsuccessfully to defeat the bill and called for harmony between opposing factions.
“We pray for all the people of our State, especially for those who supported this bill,” he said. “Though we disagree profoundly, may we live in peace with one another.”
Opposition lawsuit fails
State Rep. Bob McDermott and others had filed a lawsuit to block the new law, but state circuit court Judge Karl Sakamoto ruled against him Nov. 14, denying a temporary restraining order and stating the law was legal.
The lawsuit cited the constitutional amendment passed in 1998 by 69 percent of Hawaii voters that gave the state Legislature the power “to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.”
According to attorney Jack Dwyer who represented McDermott, the constitutional amendment should be interpreted as “no more and no less validating the existing and continuing law of Hawaii that said that marriage licenses could only be issued to heterosexual couples.”
“The voters are the ones that adopted it,” he said and it was not their intention to leave the decision to legalize same-sex marriage to the legislature.
But Judge Sakamoto said it was clear that the amendment gave the legislature the power to define marriage anyway it wished.
Attorney Jim Hochberg, president of Hawaii Family Advocates, disputes the claim of the governor, the state attorney general and the bill’s advocates in the Legislature that the new law protects the religious freedom of citizens and religious organizations in Hawaii.
He said the law leaves marriage counselors and persons involved in the wedding industry like photographers and entertainers who have religious or philosophical objections to homosexuality “exposed to claims of discrimination.”
Hochberg also said that, while the law will not force a church or church facility to host same-sex weddings against its beliefs, it does not protect religious organizations that object to their property being used “to host any post-marriage ceremony like anniversary or recommitment ceremonies.”
Protesters by the thousands
Gov. Abercrombie’s call for a special session to legalize same-sex marriage galvanized thousands of people who came to the Capitol to testify and demonstrate, most in opposition to the bill.
Thousands assembled at the Capitol on Oct. 28, the opening date of the session, to protest the legislation. More than 5,000 submitted written testimonies, the large majority in opposition to the bill. More than 1,000 came to the Capitol to deliver their opinions in person, resulting in 55 hours of hearings over five days. The state House spent two days in deliberation before passing the bill.
Those opposing the bill came primarily from Evangelical, Mormon and Catholic congregations. Their main message, repeatedly chanted at every gathering, was “Let the people decide.” It was a call to vote to amend the state constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
The argument, which the legislature rejected, was that the same-sex marriage issue was decided 15 years ago in 1998 by 69 percent of Hawaii voters who passed a constitutional amendment which gave the state Legislature the power “to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.”
The 1998 referendum came in response to a 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that stated that the constitutional right to equal protection prevented the state from denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The Hawaii court decision also prompted Congress to pass the Defense of Marriage Act, which for federal purposes limited marriage to a man and a woman. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA in June, arguing that the federal government must recognize same-sex marital status when legalized by states, Gov. Abercrombie pushed for the special session.
The primary voice of the Catholic Church in the public debate belonged to Bishop Silva who, in letters and talks, urged everyone to look at the “big picture.”
He warned of same-sex marriage’s “long-term and profound societal implications” that would infect everything from school textbooks and school dances to childrearing and adolescent sexual development.
In each of his letters, Bishop Silva emphasized that one can respect the equality of human beings while acknowledging the difference between sexes and the distinctions between same-sex and opposite-sex relationships.
Efforts to preserve marriage “are an expression of our love,” he said.
