The state Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to approve a gay marriage bill, casting the decision as an important leg in the long march toward equality for gays and lesbians.

The 20-4 vote sent the bill to the state House, where the House Judiciary and Finance committees will hold a public hearing today. If the committees amend the bill, which is likely in order to win over some House lawmakers worried about the scope of a religious exemption, then the bill would return to the Senate for another review.

Sen. Clayton Hee (D, Heeia-Laie- Waialua), chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee, placed marriage equality into the same historical context as the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1967 ruling in Loving v. Virginia, which determined that state bans on interracial marriage violated equal protection and due process. He also likened the vote to the 1970 decision by Hawaii Gov. John Burns, a devout Catholic, to set aside his faith and allow an abortion rights bill to become law without his signature.

"I respectfully and humbly ask that you join me in bringing maluhia (serenity) to that community who seeks justice. I ask (that) you expand the meaning of ‘aloha’ to truly include everyone regardless … " said Hee.

He was interrupted by a woman in the Senate gallery who snickered and was admonished by Senate President Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi Valley-Moanalua-Halawa) to remain quiet.

He continued, "I ask you to expand the meaning of the word ‘aloha’ to truly include everyone regardless of his or her race, his or her color, his or her creed, or his or her sexual orientation."

Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Kahala-Hawaii Kai) said the bill is not about equal rights, but extending a privilege. He described it as an attack on religious freedom and the First Amendment.

Slom, who has argued that voters should decide the issue through a constitutional amendment, said there was no urgency for a special session on sexual orientation and disputed the historical significance.

"To say that this is historic is untrue," he said. "Hysteric it may be."

The Senate version of the bill would allow same-sex couples to marry starting Nov. 18 and would recognize that clergy and others have a constitutional right to refuse to perform gay weddings. Churches and other religious organizations would have a narrow exemption from the state’s public accommodations law, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, as long as churches do not make religious facilities or grounds available to the general public for weddings for a profit.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s draft of the bill, which is not being considered, provided a religious exemption for churches but did not intrude into the public accommodations law. The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and others have urged lawmakers not to undercut the public accommodations law, but the religious exemption could be expanded by the House.

Hee told reporters that the Senate would prefer to avoid a conference committee on the bill if it is amended by the House. The Senate could just agree to the House changes and send the bill to Abercrombie for his signature.

But Hee cautioned House leaders not to expand the religious exemption so broadly that it exposes same-sex couples to discrimination. He also hopes that House Democrats do not let an internal leadership divide cloud the debate.

"I’m not sure what they might have in mind. I hope it’s for the good of public policy, and not reorganization," Hee said. "I want to be clear about that. Our job here is to do right by the people of Hawaii, and to do good policy that can stand on its merits."

The House on Wednesday rejected a procedural motion and appeals by House Republicans to force a floor vote on a bill from last session that would call for a constitutional amendment so voters could decide whether to preserve traditional marriage. House leaders explained that only bills introduced during the special session can be considered.

Rep. Bob McDermott (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) and Rep. Gene Ward (R, Kalama Valley-Queen’s Gate-Hawaii Kai) acknowledged that they did not understand the procedural rules that governed such motions.

"I’ve been trying six ways to Sunday to get a vote on the constitutional amendment," McDermott said.

Rep. Richard Fale (R, Waialua-Kahuku-Waiahole) took his unfamiliarity with the rules to a more extreme degree, describing himself as a farmer and a soldier who should not be expected to understand when confronted with a book on procedure.

The House also rejected Ward’s attempt to indefinitely postpone action on the Senate version of the bill after House leaders ruled that the motion was out of order. Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore-Poamoho) and Rep. Sharon Har (D, Kapolei-Makakilo) — Democrats who are at odds with the House leadership — spoke in favor of Ward’s unsuccessful appeal.

The House approved the Senate bill on first reading — a standard procedure before referring bills to committee — but not before several Republicans and Democrats walked off the floor so they would be recorded as excused and not in any way part of advancing the bill.

McDermott, meanwhile, announced Wednesday that he filed a legal challenge in Circuit Court, arguing that only another constitutional amendment can change the 1998 constitutional amendment that gave the Legislature the power to define marriage between a man and a woman. The lawsuit, which names Abercrombie and House and Senate leaders, asks the court to declare any gay marriage bill passed during special session null and void.

State Attorney General David Louie, in an opinion earlier this month, held that the Legislature has the legal authority to approve a same-sex marriage bill without amending the state Constitution.

In the Senate, where support for same-sex marriage has not been in question, most senators took the opportunity Wednesday to speak about what could be one of the most memorable votes of their political careers.

Sen. Mike Gabbard (D, Kapolei-Makakilo), who led the opposition to gay marriage in the 1990s and who voted against the bill Wednesday, said he has been called a "hater" a "homophobe" and a "Nazi." He said supporters of gay marriage in the Senate have been called "Satan" and told they would "burn in hell eternally" if they vote the wrong way. He said such a divisive issue should go before voters.

"So the obvious question is, why the urgency and why are we trying to cram an issue of this magnitude into a short special session?" Gabbard said.

But state Sen. Laura Thielen (D, Hawaii Kai-Waimanalo-Kailua) said she campaigned against the 1998 constitutional amendment because she thought same-sex marriage should have been honored after the state Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that denying same-sex couples marriage licenses was a violation of equal protection.

"And I would never put that right up for a popular vote just as I would never put up the First Amendment for a popular vote," she said.

Sen. Jill Tokuda (D, Kailua-Kaneohe), chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee and the mother of two young sons, addressed criticism from some opponents of gay marriage who fear that if the bill becomes law public schools will teach that homosexuality is an acceptable behavior. She said the objective of character education in schools is to teach democratic principles and ethical values such as compassion and honesty.

But Tokuda said the bill is not about schools, but equal rights.

Tokuda referred to a sticker "Equal Marriage Rights for All — Legalize Same Gender Marriage" that she said she had picked up during the gay marriage battles of the 1990s.

She remembers telling herself at the time: "Maybe one day."

"I’m hoping, after all this time, when I go again to put this sticker away, I can finally say, ‘It was today,’" she said.

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