Fridae

Update (Feb 26): After more than 15 hours of testimony, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-3 on the bill at 3 am on Wednesday.

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Hawaii's Civil Union Bill passed in their House of Representatives earlier this month to allow same-sex civil unions and will be debated by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday before a vote is taken.

According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, more than 1300 people signed up to testify on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. At the time of writing this report (10:57pm local time), the Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations is still taking testimony.

The bill will give same-sex partners the same rights and benefits as married couples, and would recognise same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships from other US states.

Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, has declined to comment on the bill, and it is unclear whether she would veto it.

If it passes, Hawaii could become the fifth state in the US to legalise same-sex civil unions following in the steps of Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Vermont. Massachusetts and Connecticut allow same-sex marriage. Californians last November voted to overturn a court ruling that allowed same-sex marriage, but the state still offers domestic partnerships that guarantee the same rights as marriage.

Opponents of the measure - estimated at between 2,000 to 8,000 who were dressed in red - rallied at the state Capitol in Honolulu on Sunday afternoon saying they fear the erosion of an island culture that values conventional family ties.

Religious groups have also bought newspaper advertisements, set up Web sites and held rallies urging lawmakers to vote against the measure.

In 1998, almost 70 percent of Hawaii voters approved a constitutional amendment granting the state Legislature the power to reserve marriage for opposite-sex couples.

The "defense of marriage" amendment - now in more than half of state constitutions - bans same-sex marriage in Hawaii and in effect negated a 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that found refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples to be discriminatory. The door is however open for civil unions.

Video by Hawaii's Honolulu Star-Bulletin