Vetoed: Hawaii Governor Shuts Down Bill for Benefits for Same-Sex Couples

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- Image by © MIKE THEILER/epa/Corbis

Well, same-sex couples aren’t any closer to marriage in Hawaii.

Republican governor Linda Lingle announced yesterday that she was vetoing a bill that would give same-sex couples many of the same legal benefits that married couples have.

“There has not been a bill that I have contemplated more or an issue that I have thought about more deeply,” Gov. Lingle said.

And after much contemplation she decided to do… nothing. “It would be a mistake to allow a decision of this magnitude to be made by one individual or a small group of elected officials.”

Rather, she says the decision should be made by Hawaii’s citizens.

TIME’s Suzanne Roig has the full story here.