Hawaii Gov Signs Civil Union Bill

Hawaii became the seventh state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex civil unions when Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie made good on a campaign promise and signed Senate Bill 232 into law on Wednesday. The law, which takes effect on January 1, grants the same rights as to couples in a civil union as are granted to married couples. "For me, this bill represents equal rights for everyone in Hawaii—everyone who comes here," said Abercrombie. "This is, to me, the essence of the aloha spirit." Hawaii has gone back and forth on gay marriage at least since 1993, when the state supreme court almost legalized gay marriage, only to have voters in 1998 pass the nation’s first “defense of marriage” constitutional amendment, giving the legislature the authority to define marriage as between a man and a woman but leaving room for civil unions. Less than a year ago, Abercrombie’s predecessor vetoed a similar civil-union bill.