State House Democrats are meeting this week to determine whether there is enough support among members to approve a gay marriage proposal.
Speaker Joe Souki (D, Waihee-Waiehu-Wailuku) said Monday that the Democratic leadership plans to meet Wednesday and expects to call all members to a caucus to determine the count, which insiders say is close. The Senate has the votes to pass a bill.
If support is solid, Souki said, the leadership will inform Gov. Neil Abercrombie. The expectation is that a clear signal will prompt Abercrombie to call the Legislature to special session to take up a bill.
"If we have the votes now, we’ll go and tell the governor we can go now," Souki said. "If not, we’ll just wait until (next) session.
"But if we have the votes," he added, "we will likely just move along and get it done."
Since June, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling affirming gay marriage rights, legislative leaders and the governor have been cautious about holding a special session before year’s end, although there have been extensive discussions behind the scenes.
Abercrombie now says a special session is "very likely," as long as there is a clean bill that can withstand legal challenge. He has pleaded for patience as his administration works on the language of a measure.
The administration also has said it is waiting for a clear signal from the House that the votes are there for passage.
Rep. Chris Lee (D, Kailua-Lanikai-Waimanalo) has said there are enough votes to pass a bill, although there is not the two-thirds’ majority of strong support that would be needed to allow lawmakers to call a special session without the governor’s request.
SOUKI said he wants to give Democrats a chance to meet this week and air their differences.
"It seems to have the votes, but there could be some soft ones," Souki said. "It’s very close, so we need to go over that a little bit more. That’s where we are now."
The push for marriage equality this summer comes after the high court’s decision along with recent poll data in Hawaii and nationwide that show growing support for marriage equality.
Hawaii’s all-Democratic congressional delegation last week issued a unified statement calling for the Legislature to take action on marriage equality.
On Monday more than two dozen representatives of faith-based groups signed a resolution in support of the move. The effort was organized by Hawaii United for Marriage, a coalition of religious congregations, businesses, labor unions and community organizations.
The resolution asks lawmakers to extend civil marriage benefits to same-sex couples. Hawaii allows gay and heterosexual couples to join in civil unions and receive the same rights and benefits of marriage under state law. However, those couples do not enjoy federal benefits.
"It’s all about standing on the right side of history," said the Rev. Jonipher Kupono Kwong of the First Unitarian Church.
Kwong said the groups would continue to press the matter until more people are in favor of gay marriage.
"We will keep doing it until we’re all prayed out," Kwong said.
The signing did not include leaders from religious groups that have previously opposed gay marriage. Hawaii Family Forum, which represents Christian churches of various denominations, as well as the Hawaii Catholic Conference, submitted testimony earlier this year against a bill that would have created a task force to study the social and economic effects of gay marriage in the state.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
