Hawaii Court Decision Puts Marriage Equality in the National Spotlight (1996)

During the 1990s, the right to marry became one of the most prominent issues in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. A 1993 court ruling in Hawaii was instrumental in raising the political salience of marriage equality. The state Supreme Court ruled that laws preventing same-sex marriage amounted to illegal discrimination unless the government could demonstrate a compelling state interest in limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. The next few years saw a series of court cases and legislative debates in Hawaii, and the impact of these political fights spread beyond the state. While Hawaiian cases were in litigation, many legislators and advocates in other states worried that gay marriages performed in Hawaii would have to be recognized across the country. In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which held that the federal government would only recognize marriages between a man and a woman. The law also allowed states to refuse to recognize gay marriages enacted outside their borders. This excerpt from a MacNeil Lehrer NewsHour, aired earlier in 1996, captures the political debates of this historical moment. The report includes coverage of Hawaii, but also focuses on the battle between advocates and opponents of same-sex marriage in California.

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer | NewsHour Productions : Washington, D.C.| May 8, 1996 | This video clip and associated transcript appear from 41:30 - 47:34 in the full record.