Date: Sat, 25 Jan 97 17:28:01 HST
From: ramsey@math.hawaii.edu (Tom Ramsey)
Subject: HAWAII JAN 26

		DUELING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

	This week the Hawaii House of Representatives passed a constitutional
amendment that empowers the Legislature to restrict marriage to heterosexual
couples (HB 117).  The House also passed a "reciprocal beneficiary" bill
that gives less than 1% of the rights of marriage to couples who are denied
marriage rights.  Four specific rights of marriage are made available, provided
the constitutional amendment is approved by the voters (Nov. 1998).  These
rights would be available to a variety of couples:  a mother and a son,
a father and a daughter, two siblings, as well as lesbian or gay couples.
The four rights would be
        (1)  Hospital visitation and the right to make medical decisions
	(2)  Tenancy in the entirety
	(3)  Certain rights of inheritance in probate court if a
	     reciprocal beneficiary dies intestate (about 3% per year
	     of reciprocity, sometimes 4%, to a maximum of 50%)
	(4)  the right to sue for wrongful death

	Senators Matt Matsunaga and Avery Chumbley have introduced SB 1800
to also allow the state to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples.  SB 1800
would add the following language to Article IX of Hawaii's Constitution:
"The State shall have the power to regulate and define the institution of
marriage, including the reservation of marriage to couples of the opposite
sex; provided that this reservation shall be effective only if the laws of
the State ensure that the application of this reservation does not deprive
any person of civil rights on the basis of sex."

	Hearings have not yet been announced on SB 1800.

	The key difference in the two CA's:  under the House version,
civil rights exist at the whim of the legislature.  Under the Senate version,
equal rights under the law with no discrimination based on sex are kept in
the Constitution.

					Best Regards,

					Tom Ramsey
					President, Friends of h.e.r.m.p
					Ex-Officio, h.e.r.m.p Steering Committee

			HOW TO HELP?

	1)  Write Gov. Ben Cayetano, Hawaii State Capitol, Honolulu, HI 96813
	    to describe how much money you plan to spend in Hawaii on your
	    eventual wedding, or how much you'd like to visit a state that
	    is supportive of all people.  Be polite and courteous.  Do not
	    threaten anything.

	2)  Hawaii is many things, most of them unknown outside of the State.
	    For example, the cost of living is very high here (like Alaska)
	    and incomes are relatively low.  MOST FAMILIES HAVE THREE OR
	    FOUR JOBS TO MAKE ENDS MEET.  This means (a) they don't have money
	    to give to civil rights causes and (b) they don't have time.
	    ALL OF THE CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE HERMP STEERING COMMITTEE HAVE
	    AT LEAST TWO JOBS, AND GIVE THEIR TIME TO HERMP ON TOP OF THAT.
	    Please be generous to h.e.r.m.p:  PO Box 11690, Honolulu, HI 
            96828

	3)  Hawaii is the most intense media-oriented market in the United
	    States.  Most people here relate to the political process 
	    through the media (which isn't surprising, if you have two jobs
	    and catch it all on the car radio on your ways to work).
	    Recently, the faculty union of the University of Hawaii spent
	    over $200,000 on a TV ad campaign to persuade the governor to
	    complete negotiations on a contract that had expired over 18
	    months ago.  The TV campain worked.  THAT'S HOW BUSINESS IS 
	    DONE HERE.  Please be generous to Friends of h.e.r.m.p, PO Box
	    11690, Honolulu, HI 96828.  Friends of h.e.r.m.p is non-profit
	    (501(c)4), not tax-deductible, and created to make a media presence
	    for the truth about marriage rights.