Gov. Linda Lingle this afternoon announced that she has vetoed HB444, which would have legalized civil unions in the state of Hawaii. A rush transcript of her remarks, and the subsequent Q&A with the media, follows: Aloha everyone and welcome. I wanted to let the media know first of all that at the conclusion of the news conference today, you'll receive the entire list of vetoes and a news release, but I'm confining my remarks to House Bill 444. The people in the room here are all invited today, besides members of the media, there are members of the legislature, my cabinet, and representatives of the community, both for and against HB 444. I hope that the citizens on both sides of this issues felt that I treated them with respect and dignity throughout the process. Because I give my decision in the first sentence of my written statement, I'm going to ask everyone to afford me the same dignity and respect I've tried to afford you through this process, and not to react. I know I'm asking a lot of you, because of the depth of emotion that people feel on this issue, but I nevertheless am asking you to please refrain from any outburst of any kind, running from the room, or anything like that. Again I want to thank everyone for the help that I've received throughout this process.
Governor Vetoes Civil Unions
Governor Vetoes Civil Unions
Governor Vetoes Civil Unions
Gov. Linda Lingle this afternoon announced that she has vetoed HB444, which would have legalized civil unions in the state of Hawaii. A rush transcript of her remarks, and the subsequent Q&A with the media, follows: Aloha everyone and welcome. I wanted to let the media know first of all that at the conclusion of the news conference today, you'll receive the entire list of vetoes and a news release, but I'm confining my remarks to House Bill 444. The people in the room here are all invited today, besides members of the media, there are members of the legislature, my cabinet, and representatives of the community, both for and against HB 444. I hope that the citizens on both sides of this issues felt that I treated them with respect and dignity throughout the process. Because I give my decision in the first sentence of my written statement, I'm going to ask everyone to afford me the same dignity and respect I've tried to afford you through this process, and not to react. I know I'm asking a lot of you, because of the depth of emotion that people feel on this issue, but I nevertheless am asking you to please refrain from any outburst of any kind, running from the room, or anything like that. Again I want to thank everyone for the help that I've received throughout this process.