HONOLULU (TIP): The Hawaii Senate gave final legislative approval on November 12 to a bill extending marriage rights to same-sex couples in a state popular as a wedding and honeymoon destination and regarded as a pioneer in advancing the cause of gay matrimony. The measure cleared the Democraticcontrolled state Senate on a 19-4 vote to cheers and applause from hundreds of supporters in flowered garland leis who filled the visitor galleries and the Capitol rotunda. Hundreds more danced for joy on the sidewalks in front of the Capitol building. Governor Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat who called a special session to consider the bill, is expected to sign it into law on Wednesday, an aide to the governor said. That would make Hawaii the 15th US state to legalize gay marriage. The measure, set to take effect on December 2, rolls back a 1994 statute defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. President Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii, hailed passage of the bill. He is the first US president to support gay marriage.
Hawaii set to legalize same-sex marriages
