Hawaii Celebrates First Civil Unions
01/01/2012
Chad Blair/Civil Beat
The long fight is finally over.
Four Hawaii same-sex couples celebrated civil unions just after midnight Sunday at a party in east Honolulu. The festivities were marked by a proclamation from Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, a stark contrast from an event less than two years ago at the state Capitol when then-Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a civil unions bill at a public ceremony.
The civil unions party in Aina Haina was a moment that many present feared would never come.
In fact, it almost didn't happen.
Midway through the online application process, the server to the house computers went on the blink. Soon enough, though, others in attendance produced iPads and laptops with their own wireless connections.
In short order, the ceremony was conducted amid great cheers and tears.
"You are now legal," said the Rev. Pam Vessels, one of four religious officiants.
Now, after a struggle that began two decades ago, same-sex couples (and heterosexuals, should they choose) can enter into civil unions and enjoy many of the same legal rights and privileges as married couples.
Lingle couldn't stop it. Nor could Mike Gabbard, the Hawaii Family Forum, the Hawaii Christian Coalition, the Hawaii Business Roundtable, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and — in just the last few days — a federal lawsuit.
"This is a tremendous effort that is sweeping the nation," Tambry Young, a member of Citizens for Equal Rights, told nearly 100 celebrants at a private home in East Honolulu late New Year's Eve.
The occasion was to remember the long struggle and celebrate the eventual triumph, making it manifest as four same-sex couples applied for civil unions through the state Department of Health's website process.
"Congratulations," Hawaii State Sen. Les Ihara told the four couples. "You symbolize what we have all been fighting for."
