EDGE Providence

Maryland lawmakers kept their state--and the nation--in suspense March 4, as a vote on marriage equality that had been expected earlier in the week still was not taken.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed same-sex civil unions into law Wednesday, calling it "a triumph for everyone" that gay and lesbian couples will have the same state rights as married partners.

Hawaii’s governor signed civil unions into law last week, eighteen years after a 1993 state Supreme Court decision that gay and lesbian families should be treated with equality. It’s a good first step--but it’s not an arrival.

For years, the Rev. Fay Hovey has held romantic ceremonies on the sand for gay partners who want to pledge their love in Hawaii. The couples take photos and memories with them, but they lack a legal and binding recognition of their relationship.

Hawaii lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, marking an end to what the governor called an "emotional process" for a longtime battleground in the gay rights movement.

The Hawaii Senate is delaying a final vote on same-sex civil unions by one day due to procedural concerns.

Indiana state lawmakers have approved a resolution to put rights for gay and lesbian families up to a popular vote. If the measure proceeds to the ballot box and voters approve it, the state’s constitution will enshrine language denying marriage or an "substantially similar" legal status, such as cviil unions, to gays and lesbians.

Hawaii’s Legislature is poised to pass a bill allowing same-sex civil unions and send it to the governor, who plans to sign it.

Hawaii has taken another step toward granting civil unions, but gay and lesbian families in two other states may be in for full-fledged marriage equality. Meantime, however, married same-sex couples in Iowa and New Hampshire face the prospect of having their family rights stripped away.

The signing of a bill by Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn to create civil unions in that state was hailed by equality advocates, but excoriated by anti-gay groups.