No Civil Unions For Hawaii

After weeks of the most contentious public displays seen since Hawaii became a state, the Senate has killed the civil unions bill.

An effort to force a vote on same-sex civil unions has failed in the Hawaii Senate, essentially killing the measure. Only six senators supported the legislative maneuver, short of the nine votes required for a full Senate vote. Even though about 18 senators have indicated they support civil unions, they lacked the political willpower to go against Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, who opposed the effort. Hanabusa has supported civil unions but said she didn't want to override the normal lawmaking process by lifting the bill from its committee, where it had stalled following a 3-3 vote.

The Hawaii Senate Judiciary chairman says the bill has a slight chance of being revived next year.