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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, February 8, 2007

COMMENTARY
Civil union bill protects families

By Eduardo Hernandez

As Hawai'i legislators prepare to hear HB 908 relating to civil unions, it is important that they and the public recognize this measure has been put forward to better protect families. It is a fair step toward equality that is based on sound research and public policy.

Civil union is a legal status. It is not marriage, and provides none of the federal recognition afforded to married couples. It leaves fully intact Hawai'i's 1998 constitutional amendment defining marriage. It merely provides a context for fair legal, financial and psychosocial well-being; an endorsement of interdependent care; and a form of respect for personal bonds.

Legal recognition of a spouse, unlike that offered through the existing and weak reciprocal beneficiary law, can increase the ability of adult couples to provide and care for one another and fosters a nurturing and secure environment for their children.

The well-being of children relies in large part on a complex blend of their own legal rights and the rights derived, under law, from their parents. Children of same-gender parents often experience economic, legal and familial insecurity as a result of the absence of legal recognition of their bonds to their non-biological parents.

In July 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics affirmed the importance of civil unions. The AAP board of directors recognized that the family is the principal caregiver and the center of strength and support for children. The AAP is committed to calling attention to the inextricable link between the health and well-being of all children, the support and encouragement of all parents, and the protection of strong family relationships.

The AAP is not alone in supporting the right of every child and family to the legal, financial, and psychosocial security that results from having legally recognized parents who are committed to each other and to the welfare of their children. The American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association and the National Education Association have all issued similar statements that put them on record in support of civil unions and striving to end discrimination against gay and lesbian households.

The existing reciprocal beneficiary law is clearly unequal and discriminatory. For instance, it provides no legal protection for private communications as married couples have, which prevents them from being forced to testify against each other in court. The reciprocal beneficiary law provides no opportunity for couples to file joint state tax returns.

The reciprocal beneficiary law does not provide for joint adoption, health insurance parity or spousal support. Especially demeaning is that no one is permitted to file for reciprocal beneficiary status in person, as you may for a marriage license. Instead, forms must be sent to an anonymous post office box, can take months to be processed and then are returned with a stamp certifying only that the form has been recorded.

HB 908 creating civil unions merits enactment to protect all our 'ohana.

Eduardo Hernandez is executive director for The Gay and Lesbian Community Center. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.