Ruling on gay marriage
to come after 70 days

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

The Hawaii Supreme Court will be poised to rule after the next 70 days on what effect the recently approved constitutional amendment will have on the same-sex marriage issue.

The high court yesterday asked parties in a 1991 lawsuit brought by same-sex couples to submit briefs explaining "the retrospective and prospective effect, if any, the marriage amendment" has upon a pending appeal in the case.

Voters on Nov. 3 overwhelmingly approved the amendment that gave the Legislature the power to reserve marriage to a union between a man and a woman.

Proponents of the amendment said the vote sent a strong message that Hawaii residents do not want homosexual marriages.

"Our position is that the constitutional amendment is not self-executing," said Dan Foley, who represents same-sex couples in the 1991 lawsuit, filed after they were denied a marriage license by the state health department.

That means that the Legislature would have to pass another measure to ban same-sex marriages.

Some of the issues that would be presented to the court would be the effect that such legislation would have and whether gay couples could still receive the rights and benefits as marriage without the license.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that denying marriage licenses to gay couples violated the state constitution's protections.

The court is asking that the Health Department submit a certified copy of the election results within 30 days and also submit a brief on the issue.

Foley will then have 30 days to respond and the state another 10 days to reply.

"(The Supreme Court justices) are going to be prepared to move on the case within three months," Foley said.

Civil rights and church groups will also have 30 days to submit briefs on the issue.

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