Civil-Unions Law Obviates Suit

"A lawsuit filed last year on behalf of six gay couples alleging the state failed to provide equal rights to gays and lesbians short of marriage has been withdrawn, attorneys said yesterday.

"The action was no longer needed after Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed into law a bill legalizing civil unions in Hawaii, gay rights advocacy group Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii said in a news release....

"'I can't think of many occasions when we've been more delighted to dismiss a lawsuit than this,' Jennifer C. Pizer, national marriage project director for Lambda Legal, said in a statement."

Read more in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.