Hawaii federal judge strikes down bid to redefine marriage in court
Hawaii polynesian cultural centre (Photo credit: Danielle Bauer ) HONOLULU, August 9, 2012 — A federal court Wednesday upheld Hawaii ’s definition of marriage as one man and one woman, rejecting a lawsuit to tear down both the definition as well as Hawaii’s constitutional amendment giving the legislature the power to maintain it. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys defended the law and the amendment on behalf of Hawaii Family Forum, which the court allowed to intervene in the case in April. “This ruling affirms that protecting and strengthening marriage as the union of one man and one woman is legitimate, reasonable, and good for society,” said Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt. “The people of Hawaii adopted a constitutional amendment to uphold marriage, and the court rightly concluded that the democratic process shouldn’t be short-circuited by judicial decree.” The three individuals who filed the suit asked the court to declare the state’s constitutional amendment on