Public accommodations and same-sex marriage

Certain legal passages are key to Hawaii’s current same-sex marriage debate:

» The "Discrimination in Public Accommodations" Law (Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 489):

Section 3, as amended in 2006 to include sexual orientation, sets out the prohibition:

"Unfair discriminatory practices that deny, or attempt to deny, a person the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of a place of public accommodation on the basis of race, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, color, religion, ancestry, or disability are prohibited."

Section 2 defines terms such as "place of public accommodation" as "a business, accommodation, refreshment, entertainment, recreation, or transportation facility of any kind whose goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations are extended, offered, sold, or otherwise made available to the general public as customers, clients, or visitors."

The list of accommodation types in the statute does not mention churches, but the law also states that the list is "by way of example, but not of limitation." In other words, it may cover other types as well.

» In the same-sex marriage bill from the Abercrombie administration, a liability exemption is proposed for religious organizations and facilities. It reads:

(a) A religious organization shall not be required to make a religious facility owned or leased by the religious organization available for solemnization of a particular marriage; provided that:

(1) The religious facility is regularly used by the religious organization for its religious purposes;

(2) For solemnization of marriages pursuant to this chapter, the religious organization restricts use of the religious facility to its members; and

(3) The religious organization does not operate the religious facility as a for-profit business.

(b) A religious organization that refuses to make a religious facility available for solemnization of a marriage under subsection (a) shall not be subject to any fine, penalty, injunction, administrative proceeding, or civil liability for the refusal.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to exempt the owner or operator of any religious facility from the requirements of chapter 489 if the religious facility is a place of public accommodation as defined in section 489-2.

To view the proposed marriage equality bill, which will be debated in the state Legislature’s special session starting Oct. 28, see http://1.usa.gov/177iSnP.