Mar 09, 2007  |  By: JOSHUA LYNSEN  | COMMENTS     

Efforts to enact civil unions in Hawaii died in committee last week when the issue was deferred, but the prospects for similar legislation in several other states are looking stronger.

No vote was taken on the Hawaii proposal, which was offered to complement the state’s existing domestic partnership laws.

Bill Woods-Bateman, executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Education & Advocacy Foundation in Honolulu, said the move caught many activists by surprise.

“We were on very sound ground and expecting to see movement on our bill,” he said. “Then the house judiciary committee chair started jerking us around.”

Woods-Bateman said state Rep. Tommy Waters, the committee’s Democratic chair, reneged on a pledge to remain impartial on the civil unions proposal.

During bill testimony, Woods-Bateman said, Waters left the room on several occasions for extended periods. No reason was given for the absences, which overlapped with absences of other committee members.

But he said advocates later learned that Waters apparently used the opportunities to strong-arm House members there and elsewhere into opposing the proposal.

When testimony concluded, Waters announced he would defer the bill, effectively killing it.

“We were just shocked,” Woods-Bateman said. “The numbers were good going in, but because of the chair’s actions, we did not have the votes.”

Waters did not respond to requests for comment. He told the Honolulu Advertiser the proposal lacked sufficient support.

“We didn’t have the votes to pass it,” he said. “But it was important for us to hear both sides of the issue.”

Woods-Bateman said he and other advocates appealed to House leaders, noting that 10 of the committee’s 17 members made campaign pledges to support the bill but were turned away.

“We were told to nickel and dime our way through the next 10 years,” he said. “That’s a direct quote.”

Woods-Bateman said the development — while disappointing and infuriating to him — has invigorated Hawaii’s civil union advocates.

“We have legislators now who say we should go straight for marriage,” he said. “We haven’t heard that in many, many, many moons.”

Civil union supporters with the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to Marry hope the unexpected defeat in Hawaii is atypical this year.

Marty Rouse, HRC’s national field director, said legislative prospects in many states, including New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington, remain promising.

“There are three states that are almost a guarantee,” he said. “So things are looking very, very good.”

Legislators in New Hampshire, which currently bars gay marriage, are considering separate proposals to enact civil unions or grant marriage equality. The civil union bill is seen as more likely to succeed.

Meanwhile, legislators in Oregon and Washington state might pass other gay union bills.

In Oregon, where voters in 2004 approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, legislators are poised to pass civil unions.

Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, said civil union advocates there did well to counter the amendment with an assertive plan.

“They boldly declared that they intend to get marriage, and intend to get there by way of what’s available now, which is civil unions, and will not allow that to be a stopping point,” he said. “I think with that attitude, they will get civil unions and use it as the engine of promoting buyer’s remorse against the anti-marriage amendment, which they thus will be able to overturn quicker.”

Washington legislators last week passed a domestic partnership law through the state Senate. Rouse said the House is expected to pass the measure and Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire has promised to sign it.

Wolfson said although the Oregon and Washington bills don’t grant marriage equality, they represent progress.

“I think it’s exciting to see that our momentum is reflected by the record number of affirmative measures being put forward,” he said. “Bills to end exclusion from marriage and bills to take steps in that direction.”

Uphill battles

Despite this momentum, gay rights advocates face uphill battles to pass legislation in other states.

A domestic partnership bill in New Mexico, recently passed in the state House, now faces a precarious journey through the Senate.

That chamber’s vote is expected to be so close that a Senate hearing was rescheduled this week after a supportive senator announced he’d be unable to attend, due to a death in his family.

The vote on a marriage equality bill in California also is expected to be close. But even if the bill is passed, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has indicated he’ll likely veto it. Rouse said there is hope, though, that Schwarzenegger could change his mind.

“We don’t know what the governor is going to do,” he said. “California remains a question mark.”

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