Hawaii governor: State ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional

From LGBTQNation: http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2012/02/hawaii-governor-state-ban-on-same-sex-marriage-is-unconstitutional/

Staff Report

Thursday, February 23, 2012

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s Governor Neil Abercrombie says that he believes the state’s law prohibiting same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but his Attorney General’s office said it will continue to defend it in federal court.

The governor signed into law last year a measure which permits same-sex couples to enter into state-sanctioned “civil unions” but Hawaii’s constitutional ban of same-sex marriages remains in effect.

Under the current statutes, heterosexual couples in the state may choose to enter into either a marriage or a civil union, but same-sex couples, however, are only permitted to enter into a civil union.

In a news release Wednesday, the Attorney General’s office said it has filed separate court responses for the governor and Health Department director Loretta Fuddy to a lawsuit that challenges the state constitutional ban of same sex marriages.

“My obligation as Governor is to support equality under law. This is inequality, and I will not defend it,” Abercrombie said.

Continue reading at: http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2012/02/hawaii-governor-state-ban-on-same-sex-marriage-is-unconstitutional/