That’s because each state recognizes marriages performed in any other state. A couple marrying on Oahu will be legally wed, entitled to everything from the tax breaks to the insurance benefits of marriage, from Fisherman’s Wharf to Greenwich, Conn. If that happens, gays will have accomplished in court what they failed to do in legislatures and the court of public opinion: while Americans say they favor gay rights, a large majority opposes gay marriage’ Any move by the courts to legalize it may well spawn fierce protests.
But before Honolulu can become the gay-wedding capital homosexual-rights groups must leap a final hurdle. The case goes back to a trial judge before whom Hawaii will have to prove a “compelling state interest” in such a ban. In the past, only laws involving public safety, such as prohibiting children from driving, have passed this strict test. By that standard the marriage ban is likely to fail. But any victory for gay rights could trigger a backlash that would make the fight over gays in the military seem tame.
