Shortly after over 10,000 citizens gathered at the Capitol demanding preservation of marriage as one man and one woman, the Hawaii Senate passed a bill to redefine marriage and unconstitutionally discriminate against Christians, Jews, Muslims and others. Today, the state House continues hearing testimony from thousands of citizens, and yet the mainstream media is reporting that Democrats, who control the legislature and governorship, will certainly pass same-sex marriage.
For background, read Hawaii Civil Unions NOT Marriage, Federal Judge Rules and also read Lesbians Find Christians to Sue in Hawaii
And read of the 14 other states that have redefined marriage.
-- From "House committee hearing on gay marriage to resume" by Oskar Garcia, Associated Press 11/1/13
A Hawaii House committee hearing on gay marriage took a break early Friday after a 14-hour session, and will resume later in the morning to hear testimony from more than 4,000 people who have yet to speak.
The House judiciary and finance committees are considering a bill passed by the state Senate to legalize gay marriage. The legislation is the centerpiece of a special session called by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, with a goal of passing a bill so same-sex couples married in Hawaii can receive federal benefits as granted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.
With two minutes allotted for each speaker, the rest of public testimony could take as much as 139 hours — nearly six days if the hearing was to run continuously. Not all testifiers have been present when their number was called, but many waited in the Hawaii Capitol for several hours for their turn to speak.
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From "Hawaii Senate passes bill to legalize gay marriage" by Treena Shapiro, Reuters 10/31/13
The 20-4 vote in favor of the bill, with three Democrats joining the state Senate's lone Republican to oppose the measure, came two days after the start of a special session called by Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie to take up the legislation. One senator was absent for the vote.
If the bill is approved, as expected, by the state House of Representatives - where Democrats outnumber Republicans 44-7 - Hawaii would become the 15th vote to make it legal for gay and lesbian couples to wed.
Abercrombie, who served more than two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives before running for governor in 2010, signed a same-sex civil unions bill into law two years ago and has since been a vocal proponent of gay marriage.
His predecessor, Republican Linda Lingle, vetoed a civil unions bill in 2010.
In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled it was discriminatory to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples.
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From "Opponents of Same Sex Marriage Overwhelm the Capitol, but Bill Easily Passes Senate Judiciary Committee" posted at Hawaii Reporter 10/29/13
As many as 12,000 people on three islands turned out Monday, October 28, at a 5-hour rally to protest Senate Bill 1, a bill that would legalize same sex marriage in Hawaii.
Coordinated by Christian churches and family advocacy groups, the rallies were timed with the opening day of the special legislative session called by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to pass a same sex marriage bill before the end of the year.
The massive crowd chanted and waved signs that said “Let the people decide,” demanding legislators allow a public vote on the issue, and a number of religious and political leaders spoke at the event held in the capitol rotunda.
People stood on line for hours to testify before the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee on the gay marriage bill. More than 400 people testified in person after 3,459 people sent testimony in advance and hundreds more submitted testimony after the deadline or in person.
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From "Experts say Hawaii’s gay marriage bill worst at protecting religious freedom" by Malia Zimmermann, Hawaii Reporter 10/30/13
While SB1 protects religious clergy from liability for refusing to solemnize a same sex marriage, the legislation offers no exemption to non-clergy members, such as judges, [Civil rights attorney Jim] Hochberg said.
SB1 also fails to protect religious organizations from liability if they decline requests to use their properties for same sex celebrations, Hochberg said, because to qualify for the protection, a church must “not make its facilities or grounds available to the general public for solemnization of any marriage celebration for a profit.”
Five noted law professors told Hawaii lawmakers this week they agree SB 1 will infringe on religious liberties, and the bill should be amended.
While the professors expressed support for same-sex marriage, they warned careless or overly aggressive drafting could create a whole new set of problems for the religious liberty of those believers who cannot conscientiously participate in implementing the new regime.
“The gain for human liberty will be severely compromised if same-sex couples now force religious dissenters to violate their conscience in the same way that those dissenters, when they had the power to do so, used to force same-sex couples to hide their sexuality,” the law professors wrote.
“A bill that addresses only solemnization would do less to protect religious liberty than any other state that has enacted same-sex marriage by legislation,” the professors wrote.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Hawaii Ends Prayer in Senate - Bows to ACLU
Fn addition, read Homosexualists Say Gay Agenda will be Complete when Christians are Muzzled as well as Senator Ted Cruz Says the Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty
