Governor Ben Cayetano let Hawaii's Reciprocal Beneficiary Law take effect without his signature, as of July 1, 1997. Just what the law means is not entirely clear---it is 92 pages long with numerous references to other parts of Hawaii's law code. The references are often just to section numbers. So, understanding many of the references requires the study of many more pages of law.

In late July, Hawaii's Bar Association had Dan Foley, the attorney who has worked with the same-gender marriage case since 1991, brief them on what the Reciprocal Benefits Law includes. Especially for the United States it is an advanced "domestic partnership" status, including at least 50 benefits of marriage (such things as hospital visitation rights, the right to inherit property from one another, etc.). Many consider it a good first step toward full equality (to understand how far the issue must go, there are currently at least 1,049 references to marital status in federal law!).

As with all law in the U.S., it may not be clear what a law means until the courts have had years to interpret it. Today, for technical reasons of exact references, Hawaii's Attorney General opined that a key benefit (access to health insurance through employers who already give health insurance to spouses) can be denied. In Hawaii, companies do not have to offer health insurance to employee spouses and children but they must offer it to employees. The Reciprocal Benefits Law was intended to say that IF AN EMPLOYER OFFERS HEALTH INSURANCE TO SPOUSES THE EMPLOYER MUST ALSO OFFER IT TO RECIPROCAL BENEFICIARIES.

At the risk of distracting people from the main prize (full equality with the freedom to marry), Tom Ramsey of the Hawaii Marriage Project says he recommends a private company that is keeping tabs on the meaning of "reciprocal beneficiaries":

Pride Insurance & Financial Services, Inc.

220 South King Street, Suite 1750

Honolulu, HI 96813

Tel: (808) 566-0505

Fax: (808) 531-9915

This company provides a 9-page summary of the "reciprocal beneficiary" status, as well as separate advice for in-state and out-of-state couples. It includes a full 92-page act itself in one of its information packets. Presently this company is creating a WEB site to contain at least some information. Given the still-fluid interpretation of the act, it is providing a significant public service by staying current on the confusions surrounding the Reciprocal Beneficiary Act.

The President of Pride Insurance & Financial Services is Robert Jenkins, M.D., a leading HIV and AIDS specialist who recently returned to Hawaii after 10 years medical practice in Los Angeles. Jenkins is among the strongest supporters of same-gender marriage. For the record, the Marriage Project Hawaii's Ramsey states he has no financial connection whatsover with Pride Insurance and Financial Services, nor does he anticipate any such connection in the future.

In the meantime, Dan Foley and the team at Marriage Project Hawaii concentrate on the still-pending Hawaii Supreme Court decision affecting same-gender marriage (the court rejected the state's request to delay its decision until after Nov. 1998, but gave no sign of when it might make its decision).

Donations to Marriage Project Hawaii are tax-deductible, and should be sent to P.O. Box 11690, Honolulu, HI 96828. Marriage Project Hawaii and its allied NON-tax deductible arm (Friends of MPH) are the Hawaii organizations endorsed by Dan Foley to raise and disburse funds on behalf of the on-going court case Baehr v. Miike. Marriage Project Hawaii and Friends of MPH are endorsed by such national organizations as NGLTF, HRC, and LLDEF.