Same-sex civil unions? Not in Hawaii

HONOLULU --Hawaii lawmakers effectively killed a proposal to create civil unions for gay couples by declining to vote on the legislation.

(The Aloha state also boasts incredible weather!)

Proponents of the homosexual civil unions bill wanted "the legal benefits granted to married couples, such as tax breaks, adoption rights and health benefits."

"For me, it's very clear cut that it's gender discrimination," said Scott Orton, who is gay. "I would like to take on a partner in the future and have the same rights as a married person."

Scott? You can do this. You have the same access to these rights as anyone else. All you have to do is get married...to a woman. Because that's what marriage is: a unity between a male and a female. How the bleep is this "gender discrimination"?

The Hawaii Catholic Church nails it:

"This is essentially a re-examination of the same-sex marriage issue except with a different title," said Kelly Rosati, a spokeswoman for the Hawaii Catholic Church and executive director for the Hawaii Family Forum.

Like Massachusetts, the Hawaii Supreme Court tried to legalize same-sex "marriages" about ten years ago.

Unlike Massachusetts, the state had the gumption to, in a constitutional amendment, define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.