U.S. District Court Judge Michael
Seabright on Friday denied a request by two churches to block the
start of a civil unions law, the Star
Advertiser reported.
Governor Neil Abercrombie signed in
February the legislation that gives gay and straight couples nearly
all of the legal protections of marriage. The law is set to take
effect on January 1.
(Related: Gay
couples to enter civil unions at midnight on New Year's Eve in
Hawaii.)
Claiming that the law violates the
civil rights of clergy and churches because it does not exempt them
from hosting such ceremonies, two Christian churches filed the legal
challenge earlier this week. (The law does exempt clergy from
solemnizing a civil union for any reason.)
The plaintiffs – Emmanuel Temple,
Lighthouse Outreach Center Assembly of God and its pastors – had
asked the court to grant a restraining order to block the start of
the law.
In his 17-page ruling, Seabright said
“it is clear that the present dispute is not ripe for the granting
of a TRO.”