Six years ago today, I was lucky to witness first hand the four years of work come to fruition with the signing of Senate Bill 232 as Act 1 of 2011. Civil Unions had become the law in Hawaii.
At the time, I was unemployed, but volunteering in Governor Abercrombie’s Policy Office, so I was able to attend the signing ceremony at Washington Place as Part of the Governor’s Office. I didn’t have to scramble for a ticket and was able to witness history without depriving someone else the opportunity.
It was a proud day for me and for so many others who had worked so hard to get to that point. There aren’t many things in my life of which I am more proud to have been a part.
Of course, a little less than three years later, marriage equality would become law. I was lucky to have been in attendance for that signing ceremony as well, but that’s for another time.
[…] Even though I was aware of Article 1, Section 23 of the State Constitution, it never occurred to me the need would arise to repeal it. Unlike many states that passed their own constitutional amendments limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples, Hawaiʻi gave the authority to define marriage to the legislature. It was that authority upon which they acted in 2013. […]