Yesterday the Hawaii legislature gave final approval to SB1, the law of equality of marriage of Hawai'i that legalizing marriages of same-sex unions from December 2. One of the 19 representatives to vote against the Bill in the House was representative Jo Jordan, the first openly gay State legislator to vote against same-sex marriage. Honolulu magazine said that their objections are based in part on concern that religious exemptions in the Bill are too narrow. The law protects clergy who refuse to perform civil unions or same-sex marriages and allows that any religious organization or non-profit that is "operated, supervised or controlled by a religious organization" that refuse to provide products, services or facilities for civil unions or marriages that are in violation of the religious beliefs of the organization. According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, said Governor Neil Abercrombie will sign the draft law. It is hoped that it will do so today, surpassing Illinois to become the 15 State to legalize same-sex marriage. The Illinois legislature passed a marriage equality law last week (see previous publication), but gov. Pat Quinn does not plan to sign until November 20. Shortly after the draft law approved in Hawaii, President Obama issued a statement congratulating the legislature in his action and saying this made it even more proud of being born in Hawaii.
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