Hawaii is in competition now with Illinois to become the next marriage equality state. The latter state, after months and months of flirting with the issue, finally passed the bill in both chambers of the legislature last week. But Gov. Pat Quinn won't sign the bill until a
Nov. 20 ceremony. That gives Hawaii the opportunity to get there first.
On Friday, in a special session convened just to consider the issue, the House passed SB1 to extend marriage equality.
The Hawaii House approved the bill two days after the chamber passed it on its second reading following five days of testimony from SB1 supporters and opponents. The state Senate on Oct. 30 overwhelmingly approved the measure. [...]
The state Senate on Tuesday is scheduled to consider amendments to SB1 that the House approved.
Abercrombie is expected to sign the measure into law later next week.
“I commend the House of Representatives for taking this historic vote to move justice and equality forward,” the governor said. “After more than 50 hours of public testimony from thousands of testifiers on both sides of the issue, evaluating dozens of amendments and deliberating procedures through hours of floor debates, the House passed this significant bill, which directly creates a balance between marriage equality for same-sex couples and protect our First Amendment freedoms for religious organizations.”
The new law would allow marriages to begin on Dec. 2, which could create a holiday boom for the state's already healthy wedding industry.