Date: 	Wed, 27 Jan 1999 11:49:18 -1000
From: Mia H H Lam <mial@hawaii.edu>
Subject: Marriage Bills, good and bad (fwd)


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 22:03:39 -1000
From: Marriage Project HI <marriageprojecthi@msn.com>
Subject: Marriage Bills, good and bad

 	Three bills about marriage have been introduced now, one good and
two bad. The good bill is HB717, from Kenny Goodenow.  It would make the
word marriage private and take it out of Hawaii's laws (i.e., in the law,
everyone would have domestic partnerships and the word marriage would be
left to private use by churches and such).  This was Governor Cayetano's
original position in the campaign of 1994 (his first campaign for
governor), but he never promoted the position or even told legislators
about it!  (At one point, in 1997, legislators were quite surprised to
learn that this was what the governor thought).  A good bill, a perhaps
strange form of equality.  Not much chance of passing.

	SB321 is introduced by Les Ihara in the Senate, to be a vehicle for
whatever anti-SSM marriage law the Senate eventually comes up with.
Right now, it is just a title.

	HB775 is introduced by Paul Oshiro (House Judiciary Chair), and
is a full anti-SSM bill just in case the 1994 version is struck down by
the courts.

	Full texts can be found on the Legislature's web page,
www.capitol.hawaii.gov Go to the menu on the left and select legislative
documents.  There is also a search facility that will pull up all bills
with the word marriage in them.   Also, the main page has a link to
members' pages, where you can view photographs, learn office and phone
numbers, etc. for all representatives and senators.

						The MPH Team