Subject: HAWAII, FEB. 5
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 5 Feb 96 18:30:57 HST

HAWAII HOUSE AND SENATE DIFFER
			  OVER DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS

	Senator Rey Graulty, Chair of the Senate's Committee on the Judiciary,
held a briefing last Friday with 3 witnesses.  Two witnesses supported
domestic partnership (Tom Coleman of the Spectrum Institute in LA, Jon Van
Dyke of the UH Law School) and the third, an official of the Kaiser Permanente
Health Plan, described the fiscal impact on his company of domestic partner-
ships elsewhere [negligible, with many more opposite sex couples using them
than same-sex couples].  Senator Graulty may holding hearings on a specific
draft of a DP bill on February 22.

	Joe Souki, Speaker of the House, was quoted as saying that the
DP concept is dead for this session in the House (the House Judiciary
Committee tabled a DP bill about two weeks ago).  This sets up an interesting
dynamic between the House and the Senate.

	Van Dyke emphasized to Graulty the likelihood that a domestic
partnership bill might satisfy the Hawaii Supreme Court as far as providing
equal protection to same-gender couples [it definitely does NOT confer
the same rights, benefits and obligations, but it would reduce the degree
of discrimination against same-gender couples].  Van Dyke said that, in
the absence of DP, the Hawaii courts would have to grant marriage rights.

	HERMP's court case to get marriage rights, with its next hearing
in July of 1996, is the background to all this scurrying about
to find some kind of alternative to marriage for gays and lesbians.

					Tom Ramsey
					Co-Coordinator
					Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage
					Project

P.S.  The Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project, HERMP, is the sole support
of the work of Dan Foley on Baehr v. Lewin (Foley is the attorney who makes
all court appearances on behalf of the plaintiff couples).  Please be generous
in support of HERMP; Hawaii is a small state, and the tiny gay and lesbian
community here is very active in advocacy work which HERMP cannot address.
Donations to HERMP are fully tax-deductible, and should be made out to
GLCC-HERMP, 1521 Alexander Street, #503 , Honolulu, HI 96822.
 
      The HERMP branch in Kona, on the Big Island, has produced a T-shirt
for sale.  One can send a check for $17.50 to HERMP, P.O.Box 902, Captain
Cook, HI 96704, together with a note about being sent a T-shirt (S, M, L,
XL, XXL).  It is also available in a tank top.  The design is multi-color
on white.  A large triangle points down, with the letters h.e.r.m.p above
the triangle, some male-male, female-female symbols in the border of the
triangle and some palm trees.  To place an email order for T-shirts, or
to obtain more information, please email [email-masked]   Thank you!