HONOLULU — Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed same-sex civil unions into law Wednesday, granting homosexual couples the same state rights as married people.
Civil unions in the Rainbow State would start Jan. 1, 2012, making Hawaii the seventh state to permit civil unions or similar legal recognitions for homosexual couples. Five other states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage.
The new law comes after 20 years of court fights, protest rallies and passionate public debate in a state that has long been a homosexual-rights battleground.
The Democratic governor’s signature makes it the first law he’s enacted since he was elected in November. The bill passed the state Legislature last week.
Seven months ago, former Republican Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a similar bill because she said it was same-sex marriage by another name.
But civil unions have been heading toward passage since Abercrombie defeated two gubernatorial candidates who opposed them, and only one state legislator who supported them lost re-election.
Arguments over civil unions and same-sex marriage have long divided the state, which nearly became the first in the nation to legalize homosexual marriage in 1993 because of a state Supreme Court ruling.
But voters overwhelmingly passed the nation’s first “defense of marriage” constitutional amendment five years later, which resulted in a law banning same-sex marriage but leaving the door open for civil unions.
Since then, 29 other states also have enacted defense-of-marriage amendments.
Opponents of civil unions say the unions could lead to same-sex marriage, likely through a court challenge based on the argument that homosexual couples aren’t truly being treated equally unless they’re allowed to marry.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 02/24/2011