Date: Fri, 17 Mar 95 17:31:31 HST
From: ramsey@math.hawaii.edu

			HAWAII NEWS, MARCH 17

	SB 888 passed the House this week, 48-0 with three legislators
excused:  Meyer, Herkes, and Menor.  The House made no changes in the
bill, which had passed the Senate 24-1 (only Liu voted "no").  The
bill now goes to Governor Cayetano, who is expected to sign it.  SB 888
creates a new commission of 7 members to study sexual orientation and
the law; the commission is requested to report in January, 1996, but
its mandate lasts until June 30, 1996.  This new commission is a smaller
version of a previous commission, with the same purpose:  study the
discrimination caused by denying marriage licenses to same-gender couples
and recommend legislative remedies for that discrimination.  The composition
of the new commission is less specific than for the first commission;
the governor will appoint all 7 members, but choose 2 of them from a list
provided by the Senate President and 2 of them from a list provided by
the Speaker of the House. 

	No other gay related legislation is expected from the 1995 Legislature.
The two constitutional amendments to ban same-gender marriage, which were
introduced in the House, have had no hearings and failed to make the crucial
"crossover" date for moving from the House to the Senate.

	Dan Foley was in state court last Wednesday to oppose a request by
the Mormon Church to be named co-defendant with the state in the same-gender
marriage case.  The Mormon brief was voluminous, and recyled much of the
Amendment 2 defense in Colorado.   The issue was raised that, were the Mormons
to be granted co-defendant status, the court would have to grant such status
to any religious group which requested it or run afoul of the establishment
of religion clause of the first amendment.  The lawyers for the Mormons calmly
replied that they spoke for all religions.  It's no wonder that the
state's attorney, who ostensibly is a beneficiary of this offer of help from
the Mormons, also opposed the Mormon's request.  We await the judge's
decision.  

	The Mormons have already made it clear that, if their request is
denied, they'll appeal the judge's decision.

					Happy St. Patrick's Day!


					Tom Ramsey
					Secretary, Hawaii Equal Rights
					Marriage Project (HERMP)