By MARK NIESSE, Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A bill granting many marriage rights to same-sex couples in Hawaii marched closer toward becoming law when it received approval Tuesday from its final legislative committee, clearing a path to a vote in the full state House of Representatives.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 11-2 to pass civil unions legislation following nearly 5 hours of testimony at the Hawaii Capitol, possibly the state's last public hearing on the issue following years of debate.

Supporters of civil unions, many wearing rainbow-colored lei, clapped and cheered following the vote, confident the measure was on a fast path to final passage.

The bill already cleared the state Senate last month, and new Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie has said he would sign it into law. The full House could vote as soon as Friday on the measure.

Hawaii would become the seventh state to grant essentially the same rights of marriage to same-sex couples through civil unions or similar laws.

Five states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage.

The only obstacle facing the bill is that it would have to return to the Senate for further consideration if it passes the House. Representatives made several minor amendments before passing it, to clarify that civil union partners could file state taxes jointly and get divorced in family court.

Senators could decide to accept the House's changes to the bill and send it to Abercrombie, or they could reject the amendments and negotiate their differences in a conference committee.

During Tuesday's crowded hearing, gay rights advocates said civil unions would bring long-sought equality to committed partners.

Lenny Zimmerman, of Waikiki, said he has been in a relationship with his partner for 32 years, and that the government should treat their commitment the same way as it does opposite-sex couples.

"I can't imagine how empty the last 32 years of my life would have been without him, and yet, as far as the state of Hawaii is concerned, we are nothing more than roommates," he told the House committee. "I encourage the state of Hawaii to recognize our relationship for what it is. We are a family."

Opponents of civil unions, many of them Christians, told representatives they shouldn't redefine marriage and alter the concept of the one man-one woman traditional family.

"Civil unions are a desperate and dishonest attempt to force same-sex marriage on the state of Hawaii," testified Allen Cardines Jr., executive director for the Hawaii Family Forum. "They will not stop here with civil unions. They're really looking for same sex marriage. They know it; we know it; the people of Hawaii deserve to know it."

Hawaii has long been a battleground in the gay rights movement, dating to the early 1990s when the state Supreme Court nearly legalized gay marriage.

The 1993 ruling would have made Hawaii the first state to allow same-sex couples to wed, but it didn't take effect while voters were given a chance to decide. They responded five years later by overwhelmingly approving the nation's first "defense of marriage" constitutional amendment.

This is the third straight year in which civil unions have been a major issue debated at the state Capitol.

Last year, the Legislature passed a civil unions bill, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican.

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The bill is SB232.

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Online:

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/