Civil Unions in Hawaii

[scream4ever]

Just would like to point out that the earlier vote on the civil unions bill in the state House was 33 to 17, so it was originally higher but some were scared off from the opposition from Lingle to table the bill when more "important" matters were at hand.

I remember reading from someone online saying that if Lingle was to veto the bill, she was more likely to have done so on Friday (something to do with publicity being overshadowed by the 4th of July). Either way, even if she does veto it (personally, I think she will just let it become law without her signature), the state legislature may override the veto this month, or else it (or even full same sex marriage) can be passed next year with a simple majority and be signed by Neil Abercrombie (who is pretty much a shoe in for governor).

 

[scream4ever]

^^^And actually Jockboy, House Bill 444 got 33.33% of the Republican House votes (2 out of 6 voted yes, while both in the Senate voted no).

 

[hotatlboi]

Lawmakers announced yesterday that they will not attempt to override a veto.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38072019/ns/local_news-honolulu_hi/

what a bunch of cowards

 

[construct]

The EqualityHawaii website linked to this article explaining the pressures on Lingle to veto the bill. Interesting read to bide the time.

Thanks. It'll provide me with something sensible to do instead of playing legal ping-pong with laika.

 

[DesperateHouseHusband]

Waiting across time zones can be a pain -- been there, done that.

In this case, the Advocate has been kind enough to translate the decision time to Eastern time, the one time zone that has to wait the longest for the rest of the country to catch up -- and their information seems to be accurate... they said that Lingle would make a decision. Verifying this, I just got off the phone with the Honololu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii's biggest newspaper and they said that a press conference was announced about 20-25 minutes ago, so we will have word of what that decision actually is within a couple of hours. Even with the time zone problem dealt with, there is the additional problem of waiting between the time the final decision is made and for it to be announced and then, depending on how many media outlets are covering it, for us to actually be told what the decision was, if we aren't connected to someone 'in the know' in Hawaii.

Lingle's decision is expected to be announced at 5:30 EST (New York, DC, Miami)

http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/07/05/Deadline_for_Hawaii_Civil_Unions_Bill/

I thought this at first too, but technically the article says Lingle will only make the final decision at 5:30, not that she will actually announce it. We'll have to wait a bit longer for that, it seems...

 

[DesperateHouseHusband]

Is there a way we can watch the announcement live?

I wish, but really NO WAY IN HELL.

Sorry. There are no media outlets that have invested in making sure that LGBT folks everywhere (really, ideally, anywhere in the world with internet access) can see gay rights events live, and the ones that have tried don't have the money because most gays wouldn't support something like that with their viewership, ratings and advertising/donation dollars... too busy trying to get laid to care about those sort of things.

And even local/state government chambers tend to have poor broadcasting arrangements within the said area so even people that live within the borders have a hard time finding ways to watch legislative sessions through a live feed, let alone a press conference that will probably take place on some building's steps somewhere covered by hastily arranged media assignments... so there's no point in even thinking about people who live in other states/cities.

This would be a project someone should probably tackle some day but I think most people wouldn't see it as cost effective so we'll probably never get to see these things live, and if it ever happens, it's likely the most important milestones will have come and gone before such times are upon us. You have no idea how many times I've wished for the very same thing and been disappointed.

 

[MercuryJones]

Thanks. It'll provide me with something sensible to do instead of playing legal ping-pong with laika.

It looks more like bouncing balls off someone's head than playing ping-pong.

 

[laikaNYC]

It looks more like bouncing balls off someone's head than playing ping-pong.

Why don't you go in there and explain your opinion instead of leaving smarmy comments elsewhere.

 

[DesperateHouseHusband]

It was so hot that we got off work early at my marina so I've been bouncing off the walls in my house without AC in the record 102-degree weather all day waiting for this governor to just say what she's gonna do instead of leading both sides of the aisle around on a choke collar.


Well that's just swell because I have something I need to do at 8:30. Great, I've been waiting around all day for this and I won't even be here. *sigh*

The other sucky thing is that Rachel Maddow, who tends to cover LGBT issues (because, duh she's a lesbian), on her show (which starts the same exact time as Linda's press conference is supposed to start) is going to be in Afghanistan tonight, so I'm not sure how it will affect her coverage of live domestic issues. She might mention it when she gets back, but by then it will be stale and old. Of course, there's a chance that she'll have an arrangement to stay on top of stuff going on back home through whoever's back home in the studio filling in for her.

Even if that's the case, though, generally the mainstream media is dropping the ball on local issues all over the place and the local media isn't the 24-hour powerhouse that the cable news networks theoretically ought to be. Our media situation is pathetic.

 

[DesperateHouseHusband]

It's OVER

... and it's over, at least until the next governor takes over (which there will be a 90% chance of being a Democrat, in which case, there is a 99.9% chance they will sign another bill sent to their desk):

Gov. Linda Lingle this afternoon announced that she has vetoed HB444, which would have legalized civil unions in the state of Hawaii.

 

[DesperateHouseHusband]

So the Republican bitch vetoed it.

There's a big surprise!

Yep.


Glad you could join us, tho, Jockboy.

 

[KTheLibra]

And another Republican shows exactly how much they care about LGBT people. Yay. You gay Republicans are so right about your party. Let's go celebrate now.

 

[Wtrain]

Next time a republican or a religious right winger tells you that they only care about the word marriage and that civil unions are a good alternative, you call them on their fucking bullshit.


Where the hell are all the republicans on this board?..... notice how they fled this thread.

 

[MercuryJones]

Condolences to gays in Hawaii.

Congratulations to laikaNYC and his or her fellow gay republicans - your team managed to squelch rights for gays again.

 

[hotatlboi]

Next time a republican or a religious right winger tells you that they only care about the word marriage and that civil unions are a good alternative, you call them on their fucking bullshit.

pretty much. Republicans desire to oppose any recognition that gay people are entitled to the same rights. That would go against their religious beliefs that say gay people are inferior and wrong.

And until they no longer support institutionalized bigotry, I doubt you will see very many Republicans take more reasonable positions.

 

[construct]

Next time a republican or a religious right winger tells you that they only care about the word marriage and that civil unions are a good alternative, you call them on their fucking bullshit.


Where the hell are all the republicans on this board?..... notice how they fled this thread.

Let's not limit it to Republicans. Let's leave some room for some Libertarians, too.

 

[construct]

She thought it was "touching" that a woman came to her afraid that a same sex marriage would be taught to her kids in school as equivalent to her and her husband's.

But it wouldn't be.

 

[scream4ever]

Neil Abercrombie is FAR ahead in the gubernatorial polls. He will for sure sign such a bill (and probably one for same sex marriage too). Maybe next year the state will simple push for same sex marriage.

 

[construct]

Hawaii has a unique DOMA amendment that allows the legislature to pass or ban same sex marriage as it so chooses. Just as a note for those who don't know, in 1993 Hawaii was actually the first state to allow same sex marriages when the Supreme Court of Hawaii found a right to it for gay couples, but the state banned it before any certificates could be issued.

I hope it won't be long until the legislature goes that route.

For now, state LGBT rights groups and the ACLU seem to be aiming for a new court battle.

I, too, hope the legislature goes that route. It might render the case moot (depending on the remedies sought) and save some time and money.

 

[construct]

LGBT rights groups are not lobbying for one at the moment. I think the next strategic move will be a lawsuit.

If we could win marriage equality at the court in 1993, surely we can win civil unions in 2010+

I guess it depends on who's on the court now. I don't have any idea about its chances.

I'd be working up a new bill to introduce in the next session right now if I were them. It shouldn't take much work. They've already got the one that failed this term.