# Same-sex marriage is coming to Hawaii **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760 "2013-11-12T23:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/1 "2013-11-12T23:49:26Z")
[http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23947349/breaking-senate-approves-same-sex-marriage-bill-heads-to-governor-for-signature:](http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23947349/breaking-senate-approves-same-sex-marriage-bill-heads-to-governor-for-signature:) > [@](#): > > The Hawaii State Senate has passed a controversial same-sex marriage bill. It now heads to Governor Neil Abercrombie, who is expected to sign it into law tomorrow, Wednesday, November 13. This is particularly significant since Hawaii is the state which started the modern marriage equality movement in the US with _[Baehr v. Miike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baehr_v._Miike)_, leading indirectly to the Defence of Marriage Act and a wave of state constitutional amendments. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/2 "2013-11-12T23:53:36Z")
Hawaii makes, what, 16 states? One more and it’ll be legal in 1/3 of the states. The funny thing is that I remember 2004 and how the writing was on the wall for SSM, how states were all adopting anti-SSM legislation or amending their constitutions, and how the proponents of SSM were a hopeless minority that were doomed to spend decades in the wilderness. Amazing how quickly things can change. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/3 "2013-11-13T00:12:27Z")
Including Illinois, it’s 16 states plus Washington DC. In fact, if you count by state populations, more than 1/3 of America already has same-sex marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/4 "2013-11-13T00:15:40Z")
The tide doth turn-eth. (Is turn-eth an _actual word?_) ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/5 "2013-11-13T00:15:48Z")
This is great. I was just talking to my students here in Taiwan about gay marriage and how much attitudes are changing. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/6 "2013-11-13T00:37:25Z")
Congrats from Illinois! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/7 "2013-11-13T01:49:20Z")
Gov. Quinn hasn’t signed the IL bill yet (though he said he will). He and Gov. Abercrombie should sign their bills at the same time and then get married via Skype. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/8 "2013-11-13T02:10:32Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Hawaii makes, what, 16 states? One more and it’ll be legal in 1/3 of the states. > > The funny thing is that I remember 2004 and how the writing was on the wall for SSM, how states were all adopting anti-SSM legislation or amending their constitutions, and how the proponents of SSM were a hopeless minority that were doomed to spend decades in the wilderness. > > Amazing how quickly things can change. Amazing to think that less than three years ago it was only six states. Ay this rate, 12 more years and the whole country will gay (marriage) friendly. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/9 "2013-11-13T07:16:34Z")
Worldwide, if you count by population rather than by the number of countries, the fraction of the world with SSM has just about [doubled in the last year](http://i.imgur.com/Jpv1RXu.png) (from just over 300 million to just over 600 million). This is mainly due to France, Brazil and California. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/10 "2013-11-13T10:04:09Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > The tide doth turn-eth. > (Is turn-eth an _actual word?_) Yes, but not with the auxiliary verb “doth”. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/11 "2013-11-13T11:17:17Z")
I wonder what that last state to authorize SSM marriage will be? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/12 "2013-11-13T11:34:24Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > Including Illinois, it’s 16 states plus Washington DC. In fact, if you count by state populations, more than 1/3 of America already has same-sex marriage. Not exactly. HI doesn’t officially come online until early December. The Governor of IL said that he will sign on Monday and then it won’t be until June that they will actually have SSM. If no other States jump the queue before then, it will be 38% of the US that will have SSM. > [@Baker](#): > > I wonder what that last state to authorize SSM marriage will be? The last bunch will probably all come on at once via a SCOTUS decision, most of which will be in the South. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/13 "2013-11-13T12:27:19Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Not exactly. HI doesn’t officially come online until early December. The Governor of IL said that he will sign on Monday and then it won’t be until June that they will actually have SSM. If no other States jump the queue before then, it will be 38% of the US that will have SSM. Without including HI or IL, New Jersey already put it at 33.1%, which is admittedly not quite one-third. HI in December will push it over the line to 33.5%. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/14 "2013-11-13T13:55:18Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I wonder what that last state to authorize SSM marriage will be? Mississippi only bothered to ratify the 13th amendment in 1995. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/15 "2013-11-13T14:28:43Z")
And dare I note? Hawaii’s _ **legislature** _ passed the bill. Hawaii’s _ **governor** _ will sign it. That’s how a nation which professes belief in self-governance should enact substantive changes to the law. I applaud the duly-elected representatives of Hawaii for making the correct choice – but more importantly, I note that the voters of Hawaii are the ones whose will is expressed through their elected representatives. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/16 "2013-11-13T14:38:04Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > This is particularly significant since Hawaii is the state which started the modern marriage equality movement in the US with _[Baehr v. Miike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baehr_v._Miike)_, leading indirectly to the Defence of Marriage Act and a wave of state constitutional amendments. There was an [article](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/09/us/gay-marriage-battle-nears-end-in-hawaii-the-first-front-line.html) in the New York Times that claimed that the 1993 decision started the marriage equality movement _worldwide_, not just in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/17 "2013-11-13T14:42:15Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Amazing to think that less than three years ago it was only six states. Ay this rate, 12 more years and the whole country will gay (marriage) friendly. I doubt you were serious but, short of a SCotUS decision or US constitutional amendment (yeah, right), I doubt this. Too many states have passed bans (often to their state constitutions) that will be difficult to overturn/remove. Even in states where majority support leans towards allowing SSM, the mechanics for amending the state constitution often mean a distinct minority can block the change. There was rumblings that Nevada may attempt to abolish their SSM ban but that would take years due to the required waiting periods between votes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/18 "2013-11-13T14:44:49Z")
Good for Hawaii. The tide really does seem to have turned, though I agree with hajario that it will eventually take a Loving decision. But the case name probably won’t be quite as cool. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/19 "2013-11-13T15:33:17Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I doubt you were serious but, short of a SCotUS decision or US constitutional amendment (yeah, right), I doubt this. Too many states have passed bans (often to their state constitutions) that will be difficult to overturn/remove. Even in states where majority support leans towards allowing SSM, the mechanics for amending the state constitution often mean a distinct minority can block the change. There was rumblings that Nevada may attempt to abolish their SSM ban but that would take years due to the required waiting periods between votes, etc. I suspect it will need to be an amendment or SCotUS decision for all 50 states to have gay marriage in my lifetime. Utah isn’t going anytime in the near future without it. I’m middle aged, maybe some of our youngest Dopers will see it without one of those things happening. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760/20 "2013-11-13T15:37:15Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And dare I note? > > Hawaii’s _ **legislature** _ passed the bill. Hawaii’s _ **governor** _ will sign it. I applaud your constant calls for restraint on the issue of rights and recognition involving a group you are not a part of. Truly, you’re an inspiration. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-sex-marriage-is-coming-to-hawaii/673760.md?page=2)