Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie and House Democrats plan to
meet Friday to discuss a proposed gay marriage bill and whether to
call a special session on the issue.
The meeting comes more than a week after Abercrombie released a
marriage bill drafted by his office.
Senate leaders say they have the votes needed to approve the
marriage bill. But House leaders remain uncommitted.
A two-thirds majority of lawmakers is needed to call a special
session. Despite holding overwhelming majorities in both legislative
chambers, Democrats cannot meet the threshold by themselves and are
therefore relying on Abercrombie to call the special session.
The meeting comes on the heels of the endorsement of over 60
Hawaii businesses.
“Not only is approving marriage equality the right move, it also
makes good business sense,” said
Sean Hower, president of Hitched on Maui, a wedding mobile phone
app. “Last year 125,000 marriages were performed in Hawaii, so
imagine the multiplier effect of adding gay couples to that list.”
Hawaii is one of four states which recognize the relationships of
gay and lesbian couples with civil unions. The other three are
Colorado, Illinois and New Jersey.
Backers say the fall of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in June
has made passage of a marriage bill critical since the federal
government will not recognize civil unions. Without the special
session, the legislation is not likely to be considered until next
year.
(Related: Hawaiian
bishop calls gay marriage the devil's handiwork.)