HAWAII: Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill

After nearly twelve hours of some of the most batshit crazy testimony ever heard, the Hawaii Senate Judiciary & Labor Committee approved its same-sex marriage bill this morning by a 5-2 vote.

The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday. If it passes, it will go to the House, where a joint hearing before the Judiciary and Finance committees is scheduled Thursday. The Senate legislation would recognize marriages between persons of the same gender and would extend to same-sex couples the rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities that opposite-sex couples now have. "This measure represents the committee's best effort to balance the interests of supporters and opponents of this issue," said state Sen. Clayton Hee, chairman of the Judiciary and Labor Committee. "The Senate's bill preserves religious freedoms and ensures that the rights of all Americans are preserved as enshrined in the United States and Hawaii Constitutions."