Hawaii Civil Unions Approved; Marriage Equality Update

Three significant news items yesterday illustrated the continuing momentum towards marriage and family equality.

In Hawaii, the state senate has now given final approval to civil unions for same sex couples. All that is now required is for the Gobvernor to add his signature, which he has promised he will do, adding to the number which now offer marriage equality or near equality at state level. More will follow.

In Baltimore, another state senator has stepped off the fence, and announced he will vote in favour of the marriage bill next week. This makes at least 24 votes (and possibly 25) in favour, which will be enough for approval. Passage in the lower house and the governor's signature should follow.

In Delaware, a new group (Equality Delaware) has been formed to push for civil unions, and has announced sponsors for a bill to be introduced to the legislature later this year. (A recent opinion poll showed that a plurality of Delaware voters support full marriage. This would suggest that the early prospects for the more cautious proposal of civil unions must be good).

For the record, here is the current rundown by state, for the US a.nd internationally.

Hawaii House Approves Civil Unions, & Other Marriage Equality Updates.

The Hawaii State House yesterday approved a civil unions bill by a comfortable margin. As the Senate has previously passed the measure, all that is now requited is some tinkering to reconcile the minor differences in the two versions, before it is presented to Governor Abercrombie, who has promised that he will sign it.  Hawaii will then join Illinois as the second US state to approve civil unions this year.

Meanwhile both Maryland and Rhode Island have been holding hearings on bills to provide state recognition for full marriage equality. With powerful voices against, including that of the institutional Catholic Church, it is too early to predict the final outcome. I am encouraged, however, by a few straws in the wind.

Civil Unions for Colorado?

Two Colorado legislators are preparing to introduce civil union legislation to the State Senate and State House. With an increasing number of GOP politicians nationwide willing to break with the party on social issues, and specifically on LGBT equality, this could just be one where enough Republican support can be found to tip the balance in our favour (New York could be another).

From the Colorado Independent:

Hemmed in by state anti-gay marriage law, Steadman to introduce civil unions bill

Denver Democratic state Senator Pat Steadman is sponsoring a bill that would make same-sex civil unions legal in Colorado. The move is being cheered as long overdue by gay rights supporters, who have been stymied in efforts to win equality by a constitutional amendment that outlaws gay marriage in the state. In weighing whether or not to introduce the legislation this summer, Steadman told the Colorado Independent that “promoting a lesser status for gay people is not ideal” but that, in the short term, “people could really benefit from civil unions.”

Steadman’s bill, which will be sponsored by Denver Rep. Mark Ferrandino in the House, will confer on couples entering into a civil union all of the legal rights granted through marriage– rights that include, for example, inheriting property, sharing health insurance policies, making crucial end-of-life medical and financial decisions.

These aren’t just protections couples share with one another, they’re also family responsibilities, Brad Clark, head of gay rights group OneColorado, told the Colorado Independent. “There are literally hundreds or even thousands of instances of rights shared by couples littered throughout the state code.”

In a release, OneColorado reported that the Strong Families Coalition supporting Steadman’s bill is made up of 66 organizations representing more than half a million Coloradans.

OneColorado has been surveying residents of the state for roughly a year on gay rights and larger equality issues, and Clark said that the campaign around Steadman’s bill will be focused on demonstrating grassroots support. He said views in Colorado on the ground seem to have changed a great deal since anti-gay marriage Amendment 43 passed in 2006. He said support for civil unions comes not just from liberal Denver and Boulder but from communities all across the state.

Civil Unions Now Imminent in Hawaii

The Hawaii state Senate yesterday approved civil unions legislation for the state. Approval by the state House, which last year passed similar legislation before it was vetoed by GOP Governor Lingle, is surely just a a formality. The new governor, Democrat Neil Abercrombie, has already promised to sign the legislation when (no longer if) it reaches his desk. Near-marriage, marriage in all but name, is on the way in Hawaii.

In my mind, only three questions remain:

• When will the new legislation take effect? How long will it be before Hawaii's same-sex couples will be able to tie the knot, and have their unions recognized by the state?
• Which will be the next state to follow suit?
• How long must we wait for "near-marriage" to  become full marriage equality, including the name?

From NECN:

Hawaii Senate approves same-sex civil unions

HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved civil unions for same-sex couples, a major step toward the proposal becoming law. 

The state Senate voted 19-6 for the bill, which now goes to the state House of Representatives, where a nearly identical measure passed last year before it was vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican.

Civil Unions Advance, Hawaii

Hot on the heels of the gay marriage bills which have been introduced this month in Rhode Island and Maryland, a measure providing for near-marriage has passed a key stage in Hawaii.  This is not yet full marriage, but as the opponents recognize, it is pretty close to marriage in all but name, and is surely just a staging post on the road to full equality. It's a long road, but civil unions in Hawaii will be an important landmark along the way.

Civil unions in Hawaii pass crucial first vote

A bill creating same-sex civil unions in Hawaii cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when it was narrowly approved by a key state Senate committee.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the legislation with a 3-2 vote following 2½ hours of passionate testimony from opponents wearing white shirts with buttons declaring "civil unions equals same-sex marriage" and supporters bearing rainbow lei.

"This is a matter of civil rights. We would no longer feel that we're second-class citizens," testified Gary Okabayashi of Honolulu, who has been in a relationship with his partner for 32 years. "We would have a sense of pride and integrity because the state has finally recognized us as equal."

Democrats, who control the Hawaii Legislature, said they plan to pass the bill quickly and send it to new Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat who supports civil unions.

The bill is nearly identical to a measure that passed the Legislature last year before it was vetoed by Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. 

It would grant both same-sex and opposite-sex couples the ability to enter into a civil union with the same state rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage.

Advocates of civil unions said November's elections showed that voters supported candidates who backed equal rights for gay and lesbian couples. Only one incumbent state legislator who backed civil unions lost re-election.

Opponents said legal recognition of gay partnerships would put the state on a path toward same-sex marriage.

Read more at NECN

Gay Marriage, UK: The Legal Challenge Begins

Rev Sharon Ferguson is a pastor with the Metropolitan Community Church in Camden, North London, a parish, she notes, is "noted for its peace and justice work".  It is part of the Gospel requirement that as Christians we should be combating injustice, and standing up for the oppressed. Rev Ferguson and her partner, Franka Strietzel, have now taken the first steps in a campaign on her own behalf, and that of others in lesbian or gay committed relationships - the campaign for full marriage equality;

"My whole life is about campaigning for equality and justice as a pastor in a parish that is known for its social justice work," she added.

"It's part of my daily life to challenge discrimination, but with this campaign what is really nice is that it's about love."

Marriage Equality: In Europe, a Human Right?

I have shown before how marriage equality has been spreading relentlessly across Europe, but in some cases (as in the UK), this takes the form of strong civil unions rather than full marriage. There are also a few countries, notable staunchly Catholic Italy and Poland, which are holding out. This could change.

(Dark blue - full marriage; light blue - civil unions; yellow - legislation in preparation; red - prohibited.)
The European Union has been drawing ever more closely together politically, and in the field of human rights. As some British conservatives have found to their costs, there have been numerous cases where European human rights directives have forced changes in British law. Now, an Austrian couple have taken their fight for the right to marry to the European Court of human Rights. On the face of it, the prospects are good. The court has a good record on LGBT rights, and the parameters are clear: human rights are defined to guarantee both the right to marry, and freedom from discrimination on the grounds of orientation.

"Their European case argues that in refusing them a marriage license, Austria violated articles of the European Convention on Human Rights that guarantee the rights to marry, protect one’s property and not be discriminated against based on sexual orientation."

UK: Civil Marriage, Civil Partnership Converging?

Here in the UK, full recognition of gay marriage just came another step closer. This development yesterday took me totally by surprise:

From Ekklesia:

Parliament votes to recognise religious same-sex partnerships

In a dramatic development, the House of Lords has voted to allow the use of religious premises and religious language in same-sex partnerships.

Sitting yesterday evening (2 March), peers voted in favour of the proposal by 95 votes to 21, despite opposition from the government and several Church of England bishops.

The current law on same-sex civil partnerships prohibits religious elements. Campaigners point out that this means that whereas a mixed-sex couple can choose between a civil or religious wedding, a same-sex couple are denied this choice.

The proposal, which takes the form of an amendment to the Equality Bill, was put forward by Waheed Alli, who is a gay Muslim and Labour peer. The government have agreed to work with Alli to redraft the amendment, ensuring that the principle is incorporated into the Bill.

(Read More)

Here is some context:

• Under current UK law, one of the few important differences between civil partnerships and full civil marriage is that the former are prohibited from using religious premises or language. If this legislation takes effect, as now seems likely, the main remaining distinction will be just the name.
• When the Civil Partnership legislation first took effect, it was widely accepted as near marriage, with very little expressed discontent. In the years since, there have been growing calls for its extension to full marriage. With a general election due within months, mainstream political parties have been jostling to be seen as the most gay-friendly. The Conservatives, now leading in the polls, were once the most strongly opposed to gay rights, but now even some of their spokesmen are promising to introduce full recognition for same sex marriage
• Three different religious groups have asked for the right to perform religious same sex unions or marriages.
• The vote in the House of Lords is important symbolically, but has less direct impact. Legislation will get nowhere without the active support of the more important lower house, the House of Commons. Still, this puts pressure on government to act, and it seems they have agreed to accept and incorporate the principle into the final legislation

From the Independent:

The lifting of the ban, which still needs to be approved by the House of Commons, will now give religious venues the option of conducting civil partnerships – but it will not compel them to do so, as some traditionalists had feared.

Lord Alli denied the suggestion that religious communities would be forced to accept gay marriages.

“Religious freedom cannot begin and end with what one religion wants,” he said. “This amendment does not place an obligation on any religious organisation to host civil partnerships in their buildings. But there are many gay and lesbian couples who want to share their civil partnership with the congregations that they worship with. And there are a number of religious organisations that want to allow gay and lesbian couples to do exactly that.”

As elsewhere, full marriage equality is coming, it's just a matter of timing. Here, that timing may be quite soon.

Related articles

• Gay Marriage, UK: The Legal Challenge Begins (rooting-for-gay-marriage.blogspot.com)
• UK Queer Christians Support Marriage Equality Campaign. (queeringthechurch.wordpress.com)
• Straight Couple Denied Civil Partnership (gayrights.change.org)
• Yet more evidence that the State should get out of the marriage business (khanya.wordpress.com)
• 10 Modern Marriage & Civil Partnership Vows (socyberty.com)

With a UK general election due within months, the political issues around gay inclusion provide some fascinating contrasts with the US - and with our own recent history.  Perhaps the clearest example is that of gays in the military.  Last night, at a reception to mark the contribution of the LGBT community to British life, Prime Minister Gordon Brown "paid tribute" to gay and lesbian members of the British Defence Force.

He told guests at 10 Downing Street, including a number of gay service members, that there was a “debt of gratitude we can never fully repay”.  He said that the pride they felt was “nothing compared to the pride we feel in them”.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the British military allowing out gay soldiers.

-Pink News

Brown  himself is  sounding remarkably like Obama the candidate in his "fierce advocate" mode, promising  that

"no one need walk the road to equality alone again.”

At the comparable reception last year, he slammed the Prop 8 ban on gay marriage in California.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Brown personally has an intriguing background here.

Gay Marriage Europe Wide: 10 Year Forecast

Hot on the heels of Gordon Brown's promises on full LGBT inclusion, we have a variation on the same theme from a less exalted government source:  the openly gay Europe minister, Chris Bryant. Just as interesting as the content of his remarks, is the context:  a specialist event in which officials from the Foreign office met with representatives of Stonewall, the UK's leading gay rights organization.

The openly gay MP, told us: "I never thought that Ireland would introduce legislation on this [gay marriage] for the reasons others have cited about religion, but it is happening. So I am optimistic. I think in the next 10 years we will see it across the whole of Europe.

In the headline remarks, Bryant forecast that there will be "gay marriage" right across Europe within 10 years.  One caveat is that he does not distinguish between full (civil) marriage and civil unions or civil partnerships.  On that basis, I believe he is being pessimistic:  marriage or unions are already routine across most of Western Europe (Italy is he major exception), and are already starting to spread into parts of Eastern Europe.

One of the interesting parts of the report for me, was the insight into what the British government is already doing to advance the cause of LGBT equality globally, through its offices around the world:

Fancy a rather special venue for your gay wedding? If you're British, you may soon be able to book your venue here, in a room of the British Houses of Parliament: