Hawaii Senators Hesitate On Rescue Of Gay Civil Unions

By Carlos Santoscoy
March 09, 2009

Hawaii senators who had vowed to rescue a stranded gay civil unions bill from a deadlocked committee and pass it this legislative session have begun to backpeddle.

House Bill 444, which would grant gay and lesbian couples all the rights of marriage, was marooned on February 25 when it deadlocked on a 3-3 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The final tally came after a grueling 18 hour marathon hearing session that ended at 3AM...

... massive anti-gay show of force leading up to and during the committee proceedings appears to have given senators pause to reconsider. The majority of testimony heard at the hearing was against the bill.

A 6,000-strong crowd of protesters attended a church-backed rally held at the Capitol the Sunday before the committee convened. Participants wore red to symbolize the blood of Jesus Christ and cited Scripture as reason for their opposition to civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. the rest