The most vocal critic of same-sex marriage at the Hawaii State Legislature is not giving up.
Rep. Bob McDermott, a Republican, has introduced a bill in the 2015 session proposing a constitutional amendment ballot question that would reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.
McDermott’s bill has no co-sponsors and has not yet been referred to a committee for a hearing. Given that same-sex marriage was made legal in 2013, it seems unlikely that a majority of lawmakers would want to revisit the issue.
Nationally, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether same-sex marriage should be legal across the country. After striking down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, lower courts have moved with remarkable speed to overturn gay-marriage bans in many states.
Hawaii state Rep. Bob McDermott.
PF Bentley/ Civil Beat
The high court seems poised to agree with a majority of Americans who now believe allowing gay people to marry is the right thing to do.
McDermott feels otherwise.
Just last month, he asked the Hawaii Supreme Court to stop the state from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, arguing that the Legislature did not have the authority to pass the 2013 law.
McDermott’s argument is based on the 1998 constitutional amendment that he believes demonstrated that voters intended to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples only. Others, however, say the Legislature’s action 15 years later reversed the 1998 ballot issue.
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at @chadblairCB.