Same-sex marriage in Hawaii

Part of the LGBT rights series
Legal status of same-sex unions
Marriage Andorra Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Denmark Ecuador Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Liechtenstein* Luxembourg Malta Mexico Netherlands1 New Zealand2 Norway Portugal Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand* United Kingdom3 United States4 Uruguay Recognized Israel5
Civil unions and registered partnerships Bolivia Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary Italy Israel5 Latvia Monaco Montenegro San Marino United Kingdom:   • Bermuda   • Cayman Islands
Minimal recognition Bulgaria6 Cambodia:7   • 68 communes China:8   • Hong Kong9 India10 Japan11   • 468 jurisdictions Lithuania6 Namibia12 Nepal Netherlands:1   • St Maarten Poland6 Romania13 Slovakia6 South Korea14
See also Same-sex union legislation Same-sex union court cases Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition of same-sex unions in the Americas Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania Marriage privatization Divorce of same-sex couples Domestic partnership Military policy Adoption Listings by country LGBT rights by country or territory
Notes KoN: Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed. NZ: Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands. UK: Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories. US: Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa. Israel: Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities. EU: The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling. Cambodia: Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding. China: Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care. HK: Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents. India: Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding. Japan: Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding. Namibia: Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights. Romania: Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status. South Korea: Spousal health insurance benefits * Not yet in effect
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender rights in Hawaii

Baehr v. Lewin (1993) Baehr v. Miike (1996, 1999) Constitutional Amendment 2 (1998) House Bill 444 (2009) Senate Bill 232 (2011) Hawaii Marriage Equality Act (2013)
Equality Hawaii
LGBT rights in the United States Same-sex marriage in Hawaii Reciprocal beneficiary relationships in Hawaii LGBT history in Hawaii
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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. 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.

Hawaii's denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples was first challenged in state court in 1991, and the plaintiffs initially met with some success. In 1993, a ruling by the Hawaiian Supreme Court made Hawaii the first state in the United States to consider legal challenges to bans on same-sex marriage.^[1] However, Hawaii voters later modified the State Constitution in 1998 to allow the State Legislature to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples. By the time the Supreme Court of Hawaii considered the final appeal in the case in 1999, it upheld the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

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.