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House Bill 444 (abbreviated H.B. 444) was a 2009 bill of the Hawaii State Legislature, passed in April 2010 and vetoed by Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle, that would have legalized civil unions for couples in the state of Hawaii. Its legislative process was accompanied by controversy over the bill's content and effects and rallies were held by supporters and opponents. The bill passed the Hawaii House of Representatives in February 2009 in a form specific to same-sex couples, was passed in amended form including opposite-sex couples by the Hawaii Senate in May 2009, and was carried over in the 2010 session, where it passed the Senate again in January 2010 with a veto-proof majority. The bill moved back to the House but was indefinitely postponed by a voice vote initiated by House Speaker Calvin Say, requiring a vote of two-thirds of Representatives to be taken up again in 2010, and was considered dead. In April 2010, on the last day of the legislative session, the House suspended the rules on the Senate bill and passed it with a majority, sending the bill to Governor Linda Lingle, who vetoed it in July 2010. Hawaii does not allow same-sex marriages or civil unions, but two unmarried people can register for a reciprocal beneficiary relationship, which provides some of the rights and benefits that come with marriage. The bill was written to become law on January 1, 2010, would allow all couples to obtain rights equal to those of married couples, and make Hawaii the only state in the Western United States to allow civil unions instead of domestic partnerships. ==Content of the bill== House Bill 444 H.D. 1 as introduced and passed by the Hawaii House of Representatives "extends the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union." To be eligible for a civil union, the bill outlined that the person seeking a civil union may not already be in a civil union, marriage, or reciprocal beneficiary relationship with someone else, the two people seeking a civil union must be of the same sex, both members of the civil union must be 18 years or older, and the two partners must not be related.〔 The bill also enumerated familial relationships in which civil unions would be automatically nullified, such as a man with his father, grandfather, or son, or a woman with her mother, grandmother, or daughter.〔 If one of the persons had a guardian, the guardian had to consent for the subject to obtain a civil union.〔 Section 1, § —9 of House Bill 444 explained that "partners to a civil union ... shall have all the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities under law ... as are granted to spouses in a marriage."〔 The bill also recognized domestic partnerships, civil unions, and same-sex marriages performed in other states as civil unions in Hawaii, and would have taken effect on January 1, 2010.〔 In addition, House Bill 444 repealed a statute that declared "private solemnization not unlawful."〔 House Bill S.D. 1 444 as passed by the Hawaii Senate was amended to remove the bill's reference to same-sex couples, include language stating the legislature's intent not change the definition of marriage, and include partners in civil unions for use of the terms "spouse", "family", "immediate family", "dependent", and "next of kin". The language of the bill's coming into effect remained unchanged at January 1, 2010.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hawaii House Bill 444」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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