Linda Lingle is an American politician who served as the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 to 2010. She was the first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since 1959, and was the state's first female and first Jewish governor. Prior to serving as governor, Lingle served as mayor of Maui County from 1991 to 1999 and as chair of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1999 to 2002.
Neil Abercrombie is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage and legal recognition of same-sex couples worldwide. It begins with the history of same-sex unions during ancient times, which consisted of unions ranging from informal and temporary relationships to highly ritualized unions, and continues to modern-day state-recognized same-sex marriage. Events concerning same-sex marriages becoming legal in a country or in a country's state are listed in bold.
Brian Emanuel Schatz is an American educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, Schatz served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1998 to 2006, representing the 25th legislative district; as the chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii from 2008 to 2010; and as the 12th lieutenant governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2012.
In response to court action in a number of states, the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Hawaii since December 2, 2013. The Hawaii State Legislature held a special session beginning on October 28, 2013, and passed the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act legalizing same-sex marriage. Governor Neil Abercrombie signed the legislation on November 13, and same-sex couples began marrying on December 2, making Hawaii the fifteenth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. Hawaii also allows both same-sex and opposite-sex couples to formalize their relationships legally in the form of civil unions and reciprocal beneficiary relationships. Civil unions provide the same rights, benefits, and obligations of marriage at the state level, while reciprocal beneficiary relationships provide a more limited set of rights. When Hawaii's civil union law took effect at the start of 2012, same-sex marriages established in other jurisdictions were considered civil unions in Hawaii.
Colleen Wakako Hanabusa is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for her party's nomination for governor of Hawaii in 2018, challenging and losing to incumbent and fellow Democrat David Ige.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Illinois since a law signed by Governor Pat Quinn on November 20, 2013 took effect on June 1, 2014. Same-sex marriage legislation was introduced in successive sessions of the Illinois General Assembly from 2007 to 2013. It passed the Senate in February 2013, but legislators delayed a vote in the House while lobbying for votes until November 5, 2013, when the House passed an amended version of the bill by a narrow margin. The Senate quickly approved the amended bill and Governor Quinn signed it into law on November 20. The law went into effect (statewide) on June 1, 2014, with same-sex couples able to apply for marriage licenses and then marry after the mandatory one-day waiting period. Illinois was the nineteenth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2009.
House Bill 444 was a 2009 bill of the Hawaii State Legislature, passed in April 2010 and vetoed by Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle, that would have legalized civil unions for couples in the state of Hawaii. Its legislative process was accompanied by controversy over the bill's content and effects and rallies were held by supporters and opponents.
The U.S. state of Colorado has provided limited recognition of same-sex unions in the form of designated beneficiary agreements since July 1, 2009, and as civil unions since May 1, 2013. Same-sex marriage was legalized on October 7, 2014.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Delaware since July 1, 2013. Governor Jack Markell signed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage on May 7, 2013, just hours after its passage in the Delaware House of Representatives and Senate. Delaware was the eleventh U.S. state, and the twelfth U.S. jurisdiction, to allow same-sex couples to marry, preceding Minnesota and Rhode Island by one month.
Blake Oshiro is an American politician and lawyer. In December 2022, he was appointed by Governor of Hawaii Josh Green as his senior advisor. From 2011 to 2014, he served as deputy chief of staff to Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Oshiro previously served as Majority Leader of the Hawaii House of Representatives, where he represented District 33, comprising the Honolulu neighborhoods of Aiea and Halawa. He spent ten years in the legislature. In 2011, Oshiro completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett Foundation LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Hawaii enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1973; Hawaii being one of the first six states to legalize it. In 1993, a ruling by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court made Hawaii the first state to consider legalizing same-sex marriage. Following the approval of the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act in November 2013, same-sex couples have been allowed to marry on the islands. Additionally, Hawaii law prohibits discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, and the use of conversion therapy on minors has been banned since July 2018. Gay and lesbian couples enjoy the same rights, benefits and treatment as opposite-sex couples, including the right to marry and adopt.
In Hawaii, the LGBT laws have been evolving for the past hundred years. In the pre-19th century, the influence of Polynesian culture led to a more open-minded state. After the first Christian missionaries began arriving in Hawaii, strict sodomy laws were enacted. Territory v. Bell (1958) was the last sodomy case argued in Hawaii. After the turn of the 20th century, LGBT issues began being taken to and decided by the Supreme Court. In 2013, Hawaii voted in favor of gay marriage, and marriage licenses began to be issued to LGBT couples.
Georgette "Jo" Jordan is the former Democratic representative of the 44th House District of the Hawaii House of Representatives, which includes Wai‘anae, Mākaha, Makua, and parts of Māʻili on the island of Oahu. Jordan was appointed to the seat by Governor Neil Abercrombie on January 19, 2011 after the seat was vacated by Maile Shimabukuro, who filled Colleen Hanabusa's vacated Senate seat. Cedric Asuega Gates defeated incumbent Jo Jordan in the Hawaii House of Representatives District 44 Democratic primary.
Kanaiolowalu is the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission's enrollment list of Native Hawaiians in a registry of people eligible to develop a government. The Native Hawaiian Roll Commission was established by Act 195 signed by Governor of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie on July 7, 2011.
The Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013 is legislation passed by the Hawaii State Legislature as Senate Bill 1 (SB1) and signed by Governor Neil Abercrombie which legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Prior to the bill's enactment, same-sex couples in the state of Hawaii were allowed to form civil unions or reciprocal beneficiary relationships ; however, civil unions are both legally limited to civil officials in their performance and unrecognized by the federal government, and RBRs are even more limited by the rights and privileges accorded.
Christopher Kalani Cushman Lee is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate. He was the youngest member and only millennial serving in the Hawaii State Legislature when elected in November, 2008. He currently serves as Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He also serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and commissions.
William Everett Woods was an American gay rights activist. He advocated for better treatment of gay people through his political organizing and public commentary. In 1990, he took three same-sex couples to fill out marriage licenses, beginning the series of events that would lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.
