Date: Tue, 25 Mar 97 16:55:09 HST
From: ramsey@math.hawaii.edu (Tom Ramsey)
Subject: HAWAII MARCH 25

		NO CONCON !!!!!!!

	At 2:17 pm today, March 24, the Hawaii
Supreme Court ruled that there will be no
constitutional convention.  At issue was whether
45,000 blank ballots counted as "no" in the Nov.
1996 General Election.

	This removes a major avenue for changing
Hawaii's constitution to overturn the successful 
court case Baehr v. Miike.  Same-gender marriage
advocates won every issue in the September trial
(see Circuit Court Judge Kevin Chang's Dec. 3
ruling).  Our Dec. 3 victory has been appealed
by the State of Hawaii to Hawaii's Supreme Court.
The state will file the bulk of its appeal by
April 29.  In the meantime, fearing defeat in
Hawaii's Supreme Court, opponents of same
gender marriage are trying to change Hawaii's
constitution. 

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