Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Hawaiian State Senate committee passes same sex marriage bill

The state Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee voted tonight to advance a gay marriage bill after a daylong public hearing that explored themes of equality and religious liberty, first-class citizenship and the word of God.

The 5-to-2 vote came after the debate over marriage equality engulfed the state Capitol during the first day of a special legislative session called by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

"It's historic in the sense that there's a huge paradigm shift, but it's a shift that, in my opinion, bends the arc of justice towards the right way," Sen. Clayton Hee (D, Heeia-Laie-Waialua), the committee's chairman, said after the vote. "It takes us to a new level of equal rights."

The bill now goes to the full Senate, where it is likely to be approved and sent to the state House. 

The House Judiciary and Finance committees have scheduled a 10 a.m. hearing Thursday on the measure.

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