Hawaii will become the 15th U.S. state to legalize gay and lesbian marriages. Today the governor of Hawaii will sign the bill that will “legalize same-sex matrimony,” according to reuters.com.
The legalization will take effect on December 2, and will redefine marriage from its former 1994 statute-definition as a union between only a man and a woman. The very popular honeymoon and wedding destination will now be open to many more ceremonies than it has been.
The House passed the bill 30 to 19. Interestingly, out of seven republicans at the vote, only one supported the bill. The vote passed in the Senate by 19 to 4 yesterday, just two weeks after a “special session” was called by Governor Abercrombie. The session was called in specifically just to consider this bill. Abercrombie served in Congress for two decades before he ran for Governor in 2010.
President Obama was born in Hawaii, and he supported the passing of the bill in a statement he made on Tuesday. “Whenever freedom and equality are affirmed, our country becomes stronger.” President Obama is the first U.S. President to support gay marriage. “By giving loving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry if they choose, Hawaii exemplifies the values we hold dear as a nation.”
Image Credit: Reuters