‘It’s a huge victory’

LIHUE — Ross Martineau can still remember the day when he first met his partner, Jeff Demma, on a dance floor at a San Francisco club nearly 15 years ago.

The rest of the story, he said, was history, at least up until Wednesday, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision toward marriage equality.

The Supreme Court ruling, which passed by a split 5-4 vote and released publicly early Wednesday, declared that the third section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” was unconstitutional.

The ruling also dismissed an appeal of a California same-sex marriage lawsuit that sought to uphold a voter-approved proposition to bar gay and lesbian couples from state-sanctioned marriages.

“It’s a huge victory,” Martineau said. “It’s not a complete victory, but we have to keep on going.”

While the ruling did not strike down a section in the federal law that would require all states to recognize civil unions and same-sex marriages, local couples and advocates, like Martineau, say the recent move is a step in the right direction.

“We’re so excited,” PFLAG Kauai President Noelle Cambeilh said. “It seems to be reflective of a growing acceptance of marriage for everybody — the lesbian, gay, transgender, questioning and allied community — and our rights.”

Koloa resident Melissa Egusa said she woke up around 3 a.m. Wednesday and couldn’t fall asleep, so she turned on the TV and watched as the decision was delivered live from Washington, D.C.

Egusa said she wasted no time and sent a text message to her 35-year-old son in Santa Clara, Calif., Mark Egusa, who is gay.   

“It was a very happy morning,” Egusa said. “I think we’re on the verge of something good happening here.”

The ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act, Egusa said, seems to indicate a shift in attitude among those who previously opposed same sex marriage and will put increased pressure on state legislators to pass same-sex marriage in Hawaii.  

“For (Mark) to be married as his brother and sister are or were is very important,” Egusa said. “As a mom, I’m just delighted. He’s a great guy and his friends and my friends here on the island need the same rights to marriage that a straight couple have.”

Wailua resident Madeleine Hiraga-Nuccio and her partner, Maureen Nuccio-Hiraga, said they felt excited that other people may now have the same opportunities afforded to them in 1998, when they tied the knot in California about two years after they first met.

“I think it’s definitely very exciting for the advancement of equality,” Madeleine said. “I’m looking forward to the day when there actually won’t be any distinction at all — that marriage is a civil marriage through a government entity that is equal for everyone.”

Madeleine said the ruling also opens the door for her and Maureen to take advantage of some federal benefits, such as filing income taxes jointly and participating in the federal government-backed Federal Flexible Spending Account Program, which allows for the accrual of pre-tax money for health and day care expenses.  

Maureen said she did not know about the ruling until Wednesday afternoon, when Madeleine called her at home with the good news.

 “I couldn’t stop crying,” Maureen said later on that day as she held tight to Madeleine’s hand. “No one can deny that it is a victory. It’s really just the beginning.”

In the meantime, Martineau said he and Demma, his partner of 15 years, will hold off from entering into a state-backed commitment until same-sex marriage — not civil unions — are finally approved.

“We’re in a committed relationship … and for now we’re OK with just having that,” Martineau said. “Being in a civil union is great for some people, but it’s not something that we wish to pursue. We want to wait for full on marriage, so we’re hoping that will happen soon in Hawaii.”  

• Darin Moriki, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0428 or dmoriki@thegardenisland.com.