The New York Times

Friday, December 10, 1999

Hawaii Supreme Court Says Gay-Marriage Challenge Is Moot

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HONOLULU -- The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the effort by several homosexual couples to legalize gay marriage was rendered moot by a 1998 amendment to the state constitution overwhelmingly approved by voters.

The decision effectively terminates the move to recognize gay marriage in Hawaii, which was once regarded by gay rights activists as one of the more likely places to win legalization of homosexual unions.

That hope followed a 1993 decision from the state Supreme Court that said the state's failure to recognize gay marriages denied some citizens the rights that others have.

The ruling set off preemptive legislating around the nation. At least 30 states banned gay marriages, and Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition of homosexual marriage and allowed states to ignore same-sex unions licensed elsewhere.

The ruling also led Hawaii lawmakers to pass a 1994 law banning gay marriage. They later drafted a constitutional amendment that gave them the authority to pass just such a law. By a by a 2-to-1 margin last year, Hawaii voters approved the amendment.

The Supreme Court held that the amendment made the 1994 law valid. Because that law denied marriage licenses to gay couples, the court said the relief sought by plaintiffs no longer existed and their case was moot.

Vermont's high court is the only one in the nation currently facing the question of whether same-sex marriage should be legal.