In September of 2013, then Governor Abercrombie of Hawaii called the state legislature into special session. They were to consider the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013 and vote on the proposed legislation. I remember listening to those public hearings for the bill (it was streamed online), and it was homophobia on parade big time. We, fortunately, had our share of speakers as well.
The bill passed both state houses, and Governor Abercrombie signed it into law on November 13, 2013. The new marriage equality law went into effect on December 2 of that same year. However, one of the lawmakers, State Representative Bob McDermott, was strongly opposed to it and filed a lawsuit challenging the new law. Rep. McDermott believed that the people of Hawaii had taken that responsibility away from the legislature and outlawed marriage equality in the state's constitution.
The Hawaii Supreme Court has now dismissed that lawsuit stating that the plaintiffs were not harmed by the law and therefore did not have standing to file the lawsuit.
From The Honolulu Star-Advertiser:
The Hawaii Supreme Court has dismissed a legal challenge led by State Rep. Bob McDermott to the state’s Marriage Equality Act.
Ruling that McDermott and other plaintiffs were not harmed or injured by the 2013 law, Supreme Court justices said they had no standing to challenge the law, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office..
“The most important part of the Supreme Court’s ruling was its conclusion that the Legislature’s decision to extend the right to marry to same-sex couples did not, in any way, diminish the right to marry’ for the plaintiffs or anyone else,” said Attorney General Doug Chin, quoting the opinion.
“We hope that the United States Supreme Court will recognize, as our Supreme Court did today, that those who oppose marriage equality are ‘harmed not at all when others are given the liberty to choose their own life partners and are shown the respect that comes with formal marriage.’ ”
You can read the entire ruling/opinion
here.