House Judiciary and Finance Committees to Take Testimony Until Midnight, Oct 31, on Same Sex Marriage Biill

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Hawaii Reporter
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People have stood on line for hours to testify on the gay marriage bill. Hearings continue today at the state capitol. (photo by Mel Ah Ching)
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People stood on line for hours to testify before the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee on the gay marriage bill. More than 400 people testified in person after 3,459 people sent testimony in advance and hundreds more submitted testimony after the deadline or in person (photo by Mel Ah Ching)

HONOLULU – To accommodate the expected high numbers of people wishing to testify on SB1 and to allow testifiers to plan their time accordingly, the House Judiciary and Finance Committees plan to begin the public hearing at 10am and end at midnight.  At that time if there are people who signed up to testify still waiting to speak, the hearing will be continued on Friday, November 1 at a time to be determined.

Due to the anticipated high volume of testifiers for the October 31, 2013 House hearing on SB1 relating to equal rights, the Judiciary and Finance Committees will assign registration numbers to people who submit testimony and wish to testify in-person. Those who submit testimony online and wish to testify at the hearing will receive an email prior to the hearing with their registration number.  Those who submit their testimony in person should go to the House Chief Clerk’s Office (Room 027) where they will be assigned a number at that time.

Online testimony can be submitted at https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/submittestimony.aspx.

This is a system to facilitate the testimony process. Walk-ins will still be allowed to testify by registering at the information booth. Walk-ins will have the opportunity to testify after those who have registered online.

The necessary steps to register online would be to:

  1. Register on the Capitol website
  2. Submit testimony through the website syste
  3. Check the box indicating desire to testify in person at the hearinG
  4. A receipt email will be emailed at the time of submission.
  5. A followup email with a registration number will be emailed to those who registered to testify sometime prior to the hearing
  6. Bring the number to the hearing, numbers will be called in batches to testify.

The numbering system is being implemented to more efficiently assist the flow of people and their testimony during the hearing.  It will also allow testifiers to know where they are on the testimony list and plan their presence accordingly.

The committees are waiving the 24 hour deadline for submission of testimony which will be accepted before and during the October 31 hearing.

For additional assistance on the day of the hearing, an information booth will be available outside of the capitol auditorium.

 

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6 COMMENTS

  3. I’ll save some people the hassle of testifying against SB1 by reminding them of a few facts:

    Religious arguments are irrelevant when it comes to civil marriage. Non-religious straight couples have *always* been able to marry in our country. You are not required to be religious in order to get married, nor are you required to get married in a church. Don’t confuse a non-legal religious sacrament for civil marriage. They are not the same thing. The state issues the marriage license, not the church. This issue is *only* regarding secular civil marriage that takes place at city hall. Your particular church will *never* be required to marry a gay couple (unless they want to — and some churches do). The First Amendment guarantees this. Civil marriage is not in the purview of the church.

    Arguments involving procreation are irrelevant as well. Our society allows the elderly, infertile couples, and those not wanting children, to be able to marry. Having children has never been a legal requirement nor an obligation in order to get married. None of the 50 states has a “promise to repopulate the species” clause in their marriage applications. The state couldn’t care less if married couples ever have children. Otherwise, none of the four non-procreative marriages of Rush Limbaugh would have been legal. One has to wonder, “Why Rush can marry four times, but a gay couple that have been together for decades can’t?” Why is the state going out of its way to discriminate against gay citizens? How does denigrating the lives of gay people benefit straight people? It doesn’t. That’s why SB1 should be law.

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