Hawaii Marriage Equality Act

Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013
Hawaii State Legislature
Relating to Equal Rights
Citation	Act 1, 2nd Special Session, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013
Territorial extent	State of Hawaii
Enacted by	Hawaii State Legislature
Date passed	November 12, 2013
Date signed	November 13, 2013
Signed by	Governor Neil Abercrombie
Date commenced	December 2, 2013
Legislative history
Bill	SB1
Bill citation	Senate Bill No. 1
Introduced by	Brickwood Galuteria
Committee report	House Standing Committee Report No. 4
Summary
Recognizes marriages between individuals of the same sex. Extends to same-sex couples the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of marriage that opposite-sex couples receive.
Status: In force

The Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013 is legislation passed by the Hawaii State Legislature as Senate Bill 1 (SB1) and signed by Governor Neil Abercrombie which legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Prior to the bill's enactment, same-sex couples in the state of Hawaii were allowed to form civil unions (since 2012) or reciprocal beneficiary relationships (RBRs, since 1997); however, civil unions are both legally limited to civil officials in their performance and unrecognized by the federal government, and RBRs are even more limited by the rights and privileges accorded.

In January 2013, a bill was introduced in the Hawaii House of Representatives and Senate that would legalize same-sex marriage. Despite the support of Governor Abercrombie and the Hawaii Congressional delegation, the Legislature adjourned without voting on the legislation.

In July 2013, following the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry, lawmakers considered a special session to vote on the legislation, but House and Senate leaders said they did not have the required two-thirds majority to call a special session. The Legislature's regular session resumes in January 2014, unless Governor Abercrombie calls a special session, which he says is "very likely". On August 19, a group of religious leaders in Hawaii signed a resolution calling on the state to enact a same-sex marriage law. On the same day, Governor Abercrombie told a gathering of state Democrats: "I think we can put together something that can achieve a solid majority, that will give us the opportunity to establish marriage equity in the state of Hawaii commensurate with the recent Supreme Court decisions, and will satisfy and resolve the issues that are presently before the appeals court on the mainland." On August 22, Hawaii State House Speaker Joseph Souki acknowledged that a majority of House lawmakers supported same-sex marriage, indicating that both houses of the legislature have majorities that would support same-sex marriage legislation in a special session. On the same day, State Representative Denny Coffman, a supporter of same-sex marriage, announced his support of a special session, which he had previously opposed when unaware that the governor's office and the State Attorney General's office were working on draft legislation. On August 29, Governor Abercrombie released a draft bill and said he would let lawmakers review it before deciding whether to call a special session. On the same day, The State Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Hawaii unanimously approved a resolution calling on state lawmakers to approve a same-sex marriage bill immediately.

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