Not helpful, Hawaii governor vetoes civil union bill

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle vetoed SB 444 which would have established civil unions as an alternative to marriage for same-sex couples in our 50^th state. The Hawaii State Constitution explicitly prohibits same-sex marriage; civil unions are the obvious, rational compromise.

Opposition to their enactment is misguided. Ensuring that two people can exercise various legal rights is well within the power vested in our government. And the proposed Hawaiian law did not restrict civil unions to same-sex couples; any two people could apply for legal recognition of their domestic partnership.

This is precisely the decoupling of the legal facets of traditional marriage from its spiritual and societal mores which I believe ought to be implemented nationwide.

With her veto Governor Lingle has given ammunition to the radical gay rights extremists who insist that "only marriage will do". They will point to Hawaii's lack of civil unions, and rehash the supposed "failures" of civil unions in places like New Jersey, to agitate for full-on same-sex marriage.

But as I've said before, civil unions work. They are not a threat to traditional marriage. Rather, civil unions reinforce the sanctity of marriage by guaranteeing that it need not be redefined in order to accomodate the valid legal needs of same-sex couples.

To argue otherwise is cruel and unjust, and dare I say it, anti-American. There is no valid public policy purpose which is served by denying a same-sex (or any) couple the right to freely enter into a contractual relationship of their own choosing. The oft-cited example of health care proxy comes to mind. If "Adam and Steve" want to empower each other with making end-of-life or other critical care decisions, what business is that of anyone other than Adam and Steve?

My interpretation of HB 444 is that it protects the sanctity of marriage while establishing the proper legal framework for equal protection under the law for domestic partners (like "Adam and Steve").

I urge Governor Lingle to reconsider her veto. Barring that, the Hawaii state legislature should vote to override it forthwith.

Posted at 15:20 by Chris Wysocki   []   Comments | Perm Link |
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