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Hawaii

In Hawaii in May 1993, a state supreme court responded seriously to an ad hoc marriage lawsuit—for the first time ever. Without the backing of any organized LGBT group, local or national, three same-sex couples sued Hawaii for marriage licenses. In Baehr v. Lewin (later Baehr v Miike), the Hawaii Supreme Court suggested that these couples had a point, and that such a denial might be sex discrimination. The Hawaii Supreme Court sent the case back down to the trial court for a new hearing. Soon thereafter, the Hawaii legislature passed the Reciprocal Beneficiaries statute, which made it easier for unmarried friends, partners, or family members to care for each other.

The 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court decision was only preliminary, and had not yet granted marriage rights. Nevertheless, it gave birth to the organized marriage equality movement—and, simultaneously, the organized anti-marriage movement. Anti-gay forces had long been arguing that any legal recognition of same-sex partnerships—even the ability to pass on a rent-controlled lease—was an attack on the institution of marriage. In response to Baehr, antigay forces introduced into state legislatures and the U.S. Congress a proposal called a "Defense of Marriage Act," limiting marriage to "one man and one woman." Because there had as yet been no serious public discussion of the issue, these measures almost always passed.

Marriage equality advocates began organizing in a wide variety of ways. However, that did not happen quickly enough in Hawaii. There, voters passed a constitutional amendment that gave the Hawaii legislature the power to amend its constitution to restrict marriage to one man and one woman. The Hawaii Supreme Court took the hint and let Baehr v. Miike die, without granting marriage rights. To this day, although Hawaii same-sex couples do have some protections with reciprocal beneficiaries, state advocates continue to work towards achieving full equality with marriage.

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WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:

Aloha Pride Centers
The Aloha Pride Centers serves the Islands LGBTQIA (Queer) Community by providing support, resource, education ,and networking. Their mission is to be a statewide organization providing inter-island coordination, variety of programs and which advocates full equality for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning Communities of Hawaii.

Family Equality Coalition
The Family Equality Coalition is dedicated to securing equal marriage rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their families in Hawaii.

Marriage Project Hawaii
This website hasn't been updated since 2001, but it has a lot of interesting historical information about the fight for the protections and responsibilities of marriage in Hawaii.

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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN HAWAII:

Your Community—Hawaii
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and relationship recognition laws in each state.

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PUBLICATIONS:

Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007
Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.

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NEWS:

View news about the fight for the freedom to marry in Hawaii.

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