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Equality Hawaii Applauds Lawsuit
For Immediate Release: July 30, 2010 • Media Contact: Donald L. Bentz, (808) 221-0799
HONOLULU - Equality Hawaii, the state's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization, applauds the recent filing of a lawsuit by Lambda Legal, ACLU of Hawaii and Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing on behalf of six Hawaii couples.
The suit, which requests that Hawaii's court extend to them the benefits and responsibilities of marriage based on the Hawaii Constitution's prohibition of discrimination based on sex, was filed after Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed HB444, Hawaii's civil unions bill.
"We support all paths that lead to equality," said Equality Hawaii Co-Chair Valerie Smith. "Gov. Lingle single-handedly vetoed the Legislature's attempt to bring social justice to Hawaii, so pursuing a judicial path is a prudent choice."
"We applaud our colleagues at Lamdba Legal, ACLU of Hawaii and Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing for their legal expertise and leadership," added Equality Hawaii Co-Chair Alan Spector. "We also extend a special 'mahalo' to the plaintiff couples who will be putting their personal lives on the front line to help in our quest to achieve equality for Hawaii's LGBT community."
It was a Hawaii court ruling in 1993 - Baehr v Lewin - that launched the global same-sex marriage movement. Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled that the denial of the right to marry to same-sex couples constituted sex discrimination under Hawaii's Constitution.
Hawaii's Legislature placed the first "Defense of Marriage" Constitutional amendment on the 1998 ballot, a measure that reserved the definition of marriage for Hawaii's Legislature. Hawaii's Senate and House of Representatives passed Hawaii's civil unions bill during the 2010 legislative session, which would have granted all the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex and opposite-sex couples while not changing the state's definition of "marriage."
Equality Hawaii is dedicated to securing equality for all Hawaii's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families. For more information, click here.
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