The outcome of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal trial to determine whether California's Proposition 8 is constitutional, is currently the main event in the marriage equality movement. But no matter how Judge Walker rules in the case, there will be an appeal, and it will likely end up in the Supreme Court in a couple of years. And until then, there is a lot of work to do.
The battle for marriage equality has now shifted westward to Hawai'i, where the State Legislature passed by a 31-20 vote House Bill 444, which would grant civil unions to LGBT couples. Republican Governor Linda Lingle has until July 6 to determine whether she will sign the bill or veto it.
The consideration of civil unions in Hawai'i means so much more than simply the next fight in a long line of struggles for equal rights for the LGBT community; it is also highly symbolic of what is now a decades-old fight. Hawai'i is, after all, the ground zero of the marriage equality movement:
Civil-unions supporter Don Bentz, of Equality Hawai'i, said the vote Thursday approving House Bill 444 was a "significant victory" for civil-unions advocates locally and nationally, since Hawai'i has been discussing same-sex marriage longer than any other state.
"Hawai'i is the state that started the whole same-sex marriage movement," he said.
That discussion erupted in 1993, after the Hawai'i Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex partners the right to marry violated the state Constitution.
In 1998, a constitutional amendment approved by 70 percent of Hawai'i voters granted the Legislature the authority to reserve marriage for a man and woman.
In short, a victory here would be much more than just a practical one. And the fact that Governor Lingle is Republican doesn't mean that equality doesn't have a chance. As Rabbi Denise Eger of the pro-equality Kol Ami Congregation in West Hollywood, CA explains:
Soon the Jewish Republican Governor of Hawai’i will have to decide to sign or veto the civil union bill on her desk. Linda Lingle has consulted with ministers and with two rabbis in Hawai’i. One from Chabad and the other my good friend and colleague, Rabbi Peter Schaktman of Temple Emanu-El of Honolulu.
Rabbi Shacktman is a Reform rabbi and before he came to his pulpit in Hawai’i worked for the Union for Reform Judaism. He is a talented and articulate rabbi and in a recent meeting with the governor made the case that religion should not play a role in her decision but rather she should sign the civil union bills based upon equality and fairness.
The Governor's office is obviously being flooded with public comment about this issue, and the side of equality needs to make sure that its voices are being heard, because the opposing side knows how to mobilize its troops for this sort of endeavor. If you're from Hawai'i, make sure to call or fax the office. If you have friends or relatives in Hawai'i, make sure they do the same thing:
Phone: 808-586-0034
Fax: 808-586-0006
It's never optimal to have the decision of equality sitting in the hands of one person, as it is with Judge Walker and Governor Lingle. But at least in this case, activism has a chance at making a difference.