World News Korner

Hawaii may be next state to embrace gay marriage. Am I the only one who thought they already had?

Courtesy of NPR:

The next state to legalize same-sex marriage may be Hawaii, where the state's Legislature will begin a special session on the issue Monday. The governor called the session so that lawmakers could consider the Marriage Equality Act, which would allow same-sex couples to wed.

NPR's Nathan Rott reports for our Newscast unit:

"The gay marriage debate is nothing new to Hawaii. In 1990, gay couples who applied for a marriage license there helped start the national debate that resulted in the Defense of Marriage Act, the law that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year.

"Proponents for same-sex marriage, including Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, are trying to ride national momentum, pushing for legislation that would make Hawaii the 15th state to legalize gay marriage. They argue that the bill extends the state's Aloha spirit of equality and would spur tourism.

"Opponents of the bill have organized protests, saying that Hawaiian voters should decide the issue, not the state's lawmakers."

Gay marriage was in a legal gray area in Hawaii after 1993, when the state's supreme court ruled in favor of the unions. But a constitutional amendment that was adopted five years later took jurisdiction from the courts and gave it to the Legislature, which then banned same-sex marriages.

In Honolulu, this weekend has been marked by rallies organized by groups on both sides of the issue, Hawaii News Now reports. More rallies will take place Monday.

I swear Hawaii has GOT to be the most gay state in the US. And I mean that as a compliment.

The entire place smells like flowers, everybody wears brightly colored shirts, and it was there that a 20 year old man-child from Alaska first learned about Mahus. (Believe me my introduction was not nearly as unsettling as my roommate from Ohio, who received his culture shock only after his date dropped "her" skirt in the hotel room he had rented.)

Like I said I am only surprised that Hawaii was NOT the first state to openly accept gay marriage.

(I guess this is where the Right Wing starts wagging their fingers and exclaiming that "they knew the President was gay, and somehow this proves it.")

P.S. And yes, before anybody starts trying to lecture me, I DO realize that not all transvestites are gay. It just so happened that the few Mahu's I met in Hawaii were.

Source