HAWAII: Alliance Defense Fund Demands Standing To Defend Civil Unions Law

Last month Hawaii Gov. Neal Abercrombie announced that he would not defend the state against a lawsuit claiming that the existing civil unions law unconstitutionally deprives residents of the right to same-sex marriage.

Today the Alliance Defense Fund announced that they have petitioned for standing to intervene. Unless I'm reading the linked news item wrong, this may be the first time an anti-gay hate group has moved to defend an ostensibly pro-gay law.

Attorney Holly Carmichael explains the lawsuit was filed by three individuals attacking Hawaii's civil unions law, arguing that it is not satisfactory. The plaintiffs say only a complete redefinition of marriage will please them. "Society should protect and strengthen marriage, not undermine it as this lawsuit clearly seeks to do," Carmichael contends. "Anyone who believes that civil unions will preserve marriage need only look at this lawsuit and countless others. Civil unions are a Trojan horse used by activists to undermine marriage, not protect it. Hawaii's marriage statute and constitutional amendment uphold marriage, and we are seeking to give those protections an adequate defense."

Abercrombie signed Hawaii's civil unions bill in February 2011.