Hawaii Senate Committee Advances Gay Marriage Bill

A Hawaii Senate committee has advanced a bill legalizing gay marriage to the full Senate after a marathon session of testimony that ended nearly 12 hours after it began.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced its proposal to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in a 5-2 vote on Monday night.

That sets up a second reading among the full Senate for Tuesday morning.

Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Clayton Hee led the votes for the bill after thanking members of the public for testifying. The hearing drew large crowds with nearly 4,000 pages of testimony submitted.

Sens. Sam Slom and Mike Gabbard voted against advancing the bill. Slom says it has caused division in Hawaii.

Two House committees will hear the bill Thursday if it passes the Senate first.