Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Friday edged closer to a decision on whether to call a special session on gay marriage after meeting privately with state House lawmakers.
The governor, who favors marriage equality, is expected to make an announcement in the next several days.
"I think the general conclusion is that everything that can possibly be said has been said, every issue that could possibly be worked on has been," Abercrombie told reporters at the state Capitol after meeting privately with House Democrats. "So it’s just a matter now, I think, of taking a look at what the final wording of the bill might be, and I’ll make a decision very shortly."
Abercrombie and state Attorney General David Louie met separately with House Democrats and Republicans in private caucuses to discuss the draft of a gay-marriage bill. The pressure has been building on Abercrombie and House and Senate leaders to make a call on a special session — one way or the other — but the governor said he wants everyone involved to feel that they have been heard.
"My hope is that when this is concluded that everyone will feel that they’ve been treated fairly, and as a result I think we’ll be able to make a decision and then move on from that confident that the legislative process is alive and well," the governor said.
Sources familiar with the talks say the only substantial issue remaining is whether some lawmakers will press for an expanded religious exemption for clergy and churches.
The draft bill explicitly states that clergy have a constitutional right to refuse to perform gay marriages. Churches that reserve religious facilities for weddings by members and do not operate the facilities as for-profit businesses would not have to make the facilities available for gay weddings.
But some lawmakers want to consider a broader religious exemption that would, for example, exempt churches from the state’s public accommodations law. Such an exemption would likely gain traction only if it is restricted to religious facilities that are operated on a nonprofit basis and are mostly used for ministry-related purposes.
Vanessa Chong, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, which supports marriage equality, said the draft protects the rights of churches. "Religious diversity is part and parcel of Hawaii. The Constitution already protects that," she said. "If we found that a church was being discriminated against, the ACLU would be the first one there to defend them."
House Speaker Joseph Souki would not provide an updated vote count on gay marriage in the House, but said the votes "are still very close." The state Senate has the votes for gay marriage.
Several sources say privately that the House has a majority for a gay-marriage bill and that the fluctuating vote counts reflect internal leadership dynamics and unease among some lawmakers over a special session. If a special session is called by the governor, sources predict, the votes will break decisively toward marriage equality.
A taste of the drama lawmakers can expect in a special session — or in regular session in January — was on display at the Capitol on Friday morning. A few dozen advocates for marriage equality applauded Abercrombie when he arrived at the House Democrats’ caucus. After Abercrombie left the caucus and spoke with reporters, he was heckled by Paul Chapman, a Christian who believes homosexuality is "perverting the creation of God," who told the governor, "Don’t do it!"
"We would hope that we can resolve this in a relatively short time," Souki (D, Waihee-Waiehu-Wailuku) told reporters, "because we all don’t enjoy the pressure that we’re getting from the community."
House Minority Leader Aaron Ling Johanson (R, Fort Shafter-Moanalua Gardens-Aliamanu) said he is concerned a five-day special session is not enough time to hear from the public on gay marriage. Six of the seven House Republicans oppose gay marriage.
"If you ask yourself, do you really think a five-day session is going to allow people either the opportunity to testify or to meaningfully intersect the democratic process with respect to passing or not passing a same-sex marriage bill?" Johanson said after Republicans met privately with Abercrombie in a discussion that was more heated than the talk with Democrats.
