It's been 30 years since the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court made a decision that then sparked national debate on same-sex marriage and changed the way courts now rule on equality.
Hawaiʻi House Democrats hosted a gathering Monday afternoon to celebrate the monumental anniversary.
A historic case known as Baehr v. Lewin began in 1990 when three gay couples were denied marriage licenses at the state Department of Health. Ninia Baehr and Genora Dancel, Patrick Lagon and Joseph Melillo, Tammy Rodrigues and Antoinette Pregil felt the decision was unjust and decided to work with former judge Daniel Foley to find a solution.
Shortly after, they filed a lawsuit against the then-DOH director John Lewin.
Three years later, associate justice Steven Levinson ruled that denying marriage to same-sex couples was discriminatory and unconstitutional under Hawaiʻi state law. The conversation was a milestone for advocates of equality — and the first time a state Supreme Court ruled with same-sex marriage.
But there was blowback following the ruling. Many state legislatures, including in Hawaiʻi, later made laws that took steps backward in progress.
In 1996, U.S. Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act under former President Bill Clinton, authorizing all states to block benefits from same-sex marriages.
A few months later, former judge Kevin Chang issued his ruling on Baehr v. Miike, which changed names after new DOH director Lawrence Miike took the case. Chang argued that the DOH's denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples was unconstitutional.
The Constitution of Hawaiʻi was amended in 1998 to prevent same-sex marriage in rejection of Chang's decision. The amendment was added to the ballot and about 69% of residents voted in agreement.
"But that was not the end. That was just the beginning. Because of Hawaiʻi, courts began to receive complaints from same-sex couples in Vermont and Massachusetts," said Daniel Foley, the former judge on the case.
Vermont was the first state to legalize civil unions in 2000 and Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage in 2004.
"They were using our pleadings and the decisions of our judges as the model, and amending it to fit their state constitution. And then the tide began to change," said Foley.
Hawaiʻi became the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2013.
