On Friday, the Hawaii Senate passed civil unions. The bill now goes to the House before going to the governor for signature.
Linda Lingle, the governor of Hawaii, the state’s first Republican governor in 40 years, hasn’t said whether she will sign the bill. Lingle is Jewish and is pro-choice and against school prayer. Although the largest Jewish congregation in Hawaii, Temple Emanuel, is Reform, one of the branches of Judaism that performs same-sex marriage, Lingle attends a Lubovitch congregation, an Orthodox sect that does not.
Democrats in the legislature may have enough votes to override should she decide to veto.