Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 12:57:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: LLDEFMarry@aol.com
Subject: Update on Hawaii Marriage Case

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund=20

FACT SHEET:
Update on Hawaii Marriage Case

Thursday, April 17, 1997

Hawaii legislators this week moved closer to sending a proposed
constitutional amendment to
voters for ratification in November 1998; at the same time, the legislatu=
re
prepared to approve a
"rights-and- benefits package" for unmarried couples that would take effe=
ct
in July 1997.  The
proposed amendment would seek to give the legislature the power to restri=
ct
marriage to
opposite-sex couples, although it would not require the legislature to do=
 so.
 If the
amendment passes in 1998, the legislature would not be able to enact such=
 a
restriction on
marriage before 1999.

o  Fighting for the freedom to marry compels even our worst enemies to
recognize the reality and
value of lesbian and gay families.

o  There is only state in the country now preparing to offer our families=
 a
broad range of
protections   no coincidence, that state is Hawaii.

o  The closer we get to full equality for lesbian and gay families and to
winning the freedom to
marry, the more concessions opponents throw at us in order to try to dive=
rt
us and buy us off. =20

o  Pat Robertson and other religious extremists are so desperate to block
civil rights for lesbians
and gay men that they made historic    and hypocritical    concessions to=
 our
families in Hawaii,
even while they oppose the very same protections and benefits in other
states.

o  The mix of benefits we now have won in Hawaii is no substitute for ful=
l
equality, and only
fuels our fight.

o  Polls show that the public is very divided and resistant to amending t=
he
constitution to
discriminate, including discrimination against equal marriage rights.  We
will urge Hawaii voters
not to write =91separate and unequal' into the state constitution in 1998=
.=20

o  This latest twist underscores the message to state legislators around =
the
country that there is no
reason to be pressured into rushing anti-marriage bills into law.=20

o  Meanwhile, our case, Baehr v. Miike, is fully on track, and we remain
confident that this
discrimination will end.  Once lesbian and gay couples marry legally, peo=
ple
will see that the sky
does not fall.


Contact:  Evan Wolfson, Lambda Marriage Project Director, 212-809-8585, e=
xt.
205
Peg Byron, Lambda Public Education Director, 212-809-8585, ext. 230,
888-987-1984 (pager)


Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is a national organization commit=
ted
to achieving
full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people wit=
h
HIV/AIDS through
impact litigation, education, and public policy work.