HONOLULU (KHON2) — It has been 30 years since Hawai’i’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of universal marriage equality.

Speaker Scott Saiki of the Hawai’i House of Representatives honored this anniversary today, Feb. 13 at the State Capital.

Magistrate Judge Kevin S.C. Chang, Judge Daniel R. Foley (Ret.) and Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justice Steven H. Levinson (Ret.) were presented with legislative certificates that recognize their important role in ensuring equality and their commitment to public service.

“I am proud of the historic role that our state played in the pursuit of marriage equality, and I am pleased to recognize these leaders’ contributions to starting a process that took too long but ultimately leaned toward justice,” said Speaker Saiki.

Genora Dancel was also in attendance. She is one half of the couple who dared to demand they be treated equally.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Hawai’i House Democrats came together to celebrate this momentous event along with other local non-profits and actors who lived the experience of fighting for equality.

Judge Daniel Foley and Justice Levinson provided comments to the attendees that shown the light on what it was like for them to undertake this intensely controversial issue at a time when no one else in the world had dared to take this path.

“This was the most important thing I’ve ever done,” said Justice Levinson in an inspiring glimpse into the role he played to secure universal equality for all peoples.

He also pointed out that the Hawai’i Supreme Court decision to include the permanent minority with rights afforded to other citizens led to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that Pres. Bill Clinton signed into federal law.

“This decision precipitated the Defense of Marriage Law enacted by Congress in 1996; the purpose of this legislation was to contain the decision so that it couldn’t affect the rest of the United States,” said Justice Levinson.

The Baehr v. Lewin case took the country by storm. It led 37 state legislatures across the country to implement restrictive laws that ensured the LGBTQ2+ community remained in a second-class status, according to Judge Daniel Foley.

“We left the courtroom that day thinking we had a shot; and in May of ’93, the Supreme Court issued a decision by Justice Levinson stating that it is discrimination under the equal protection clause in the State Constitution to deny a marriage license and the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples,” said Judge Foley.

As the U.S. grappled with the question of extending equality to all of its citizens and residents, it took 20 years for Hawai’i to finally come back around to understanding that marriage equality is an important right for all citizens.

Then, in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded a mission that began back in 1991. Following this, Congress finally passed the Respect for Marriage Act in December 2022 to ensure that equality is enshrined in our federal constitution.