Posted on 04/09/2009 10:23:13 AM PDT by kaehurowing
HB 444 - Civil Unions Bill- Dead for The 2009 Legislative Session
Revamped proposal didn't gain enough support in Senate caucus today
By Hawaii Reporter, 4/8/2009 6:28:12 PM
Senate Democrats considered reviving a revised version of HB 444 in their caucus today, but they failed to get the support from Senate president Colleen Hanabusa and other Senate leaders who prefer, at this point, to focus their efforts on the balancing the state budget. Dennis Arakaki, a former state Representative who is a spokeperson for the Hawaii Family Forum against civil unions, says it was "good news" that nothing happened today during the Senate session.
While Senators say the issue is dead for this year, Arakaki warns "the bill is still alive and can be pulled from the Committee anytime from tomorrow until May 5. (This was tried once before but failed, so it is unlikely that it will happen again, but we cannot take that for granted."
In an email to members, he asks them to thank all the Senators "for setting this divisive issue aside in favor of addressing more urgent issues of the people. ... and to "Continue to pray for the proponents of the Civil Unions bill and pray for those across the country who are doing battle against Same Sex Marriage and Civil Unions and realize that this movement is not just here in Hawaii but in many other states as well."
Between 8,000 and 10,000 people rallied at the capitol against the civil union bill after it passed the Hawaii State House with little opposition. The bill died in the Senate.
However, proponents say they expected to bring back the legislation next year.
Still,it’s good news after we lost Iowa and Vermont.
See this is why I like this in the state level rather than the federal which all the FREEPERS desire for some reason....conservative??? Not so much if they want the feds involved. Anyway, the reason I want the states to take care of it is because by time it is said and done MAYBE 6 states will have gay marriage....The FREEPERS want Federal to take it....but they ended up giving us 50 STATES full of abortion...No thanks!!!
A bit of good news, well done. Aloha.
But after Obama stacks the courts with his judges,(which the GOP won’t have the stones to block),it’s the GAYS that will end up taking this to the Supremes,who may just uphold the rulings of these state’s courts and there will be 50 state gay marriage THAT way.Remember,it was the Supremes that brought abortion to all 50 states.
You have this completely backwards. Any actions taken by conservatives up until now have been definite defensive actions against an onslaught of homo-leftist lawsuits. The LEFT wants to take this to the Federal level - ten times as much as conservatives do. We are generally loath to push an issue that shouldn't even be brought to the table for discussion by a moral society, but we have to fight on the battlefield on which we find ourselves.
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