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Hawaii Now One Major Step Closer to Becoming Gay Wedding Hot Spot of 2012

January 2, 2012 at 12:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

Happy New Year! Also, happy year that more same-sex couples will achieve equal (or at least equal-er) rights. Just yesterday, January 1, two more US states switched to legally recognizing and performing civil unions. These are Delaware and Hawaii. For the moment, let's focus on the latter.

Hawaii is the only US state west of the Mississippi River to allow same-sex civil unions. None have gone so far as marriage (the California Prop 8 debacle came closest) and what this means for gay couples is that their union—not just the honeymoon—can also happen in the Aloha State.

According to The Baltimore Sun/KTLA, the turning of the calendar immediately coincided with the law going in effect:

In Hawaii, online application for civil union licenses was made available beginning at midnight, despite the fact that government offices are closed until Tuesday, the state government said. The union becomes valid after a ceremony performed by someone licensed by the Department of Health.

A civil union is huge step closer to full-on marriage, as a union imparts some of the legal rights shared by marriage. Still, it's not a full marriage certificate. Of course one of the best ways to show support for Hawaii's move in the right direction is by voting with your wallet. Here's to lavish, same-sex civil union ceremonies on the beach in 2012!

For further reference...

Countries with same-sex marriage: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa and Sweden.

States with same-sex marriage: New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington DC.

States with same-sex civil unions: Hawaii, Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

[Photo: asterix611]

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