Re: Same-Sex Marriage 2013
Perhaps it is over now!
From the StarAdvertiser:
So, maybe if the legislators (in this case, McDermott) want to fall back on the wording of legislation to give them solid footing for appeals, etc, they need to be more careful in the first place that they put in the correct wording that supports their intent.
Sort of along the lines of when they write legislation that does not include a fully developed enforcement component. Why not do things thoroughly in the first place?
Originally posted by Amati
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From the StarAdvertiser:
After hearing arguments for about an hour, Sakamoto [Circuit Court Judge Karl Sakamoto] said that while state Rep. Bob McDermott and others had standing to file their request to block the new marriage equality law, the state Legislature has the inherent authority to define marriage independent of a 1998 constitutional amendment that gave the Legislature the power to reserve marriage to heterosexual couples.
"After all the legal complexities of the court's analysis, the court will conclude that same-sex marriage in Hawaii is legal," Sakamoto said.
"After all the legal complexities of the court's analysis, the court will conclude that same-sex marriage in Hawaii is legal," Sakamoto said.
Molay [Deputy Attorney General John Molay] also argues that the 1998 constitutional amendment was "clear and unambiguous," giving the Legislature -- and not the Supreme Court -- the power to define marriage. The constitutional amendment did not, Molay contends, preclude the Legislature from later approving same-sex marriage.
The state also defended ballot information sent to voters by the state Office of Elections at the time that stated that the constitutional amendment would give the Legislature the power to reserve marriage to heterosexual couples only. The word "only," Molay maintained, did not mean that the Legislature only had the power to reserve marriage to heterosexual couples, but could choose to regardless of the ruling by the Supreme Court.
Sort of along the lines of when they write legislation that does not include a fully developed enforcement component. Why not do things thoroughly in the first place?
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