same-sex marriages which were currently being debated in the Supreme Court trial. In 1998, the legislature referred Constitutional Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment empowering the Hawaii State Legislature to limit marriage to mixed-sex couples, to the plebiscite for approval. The amendment won and was enacted by a total of 69.2–28.6%. On December 9, 1999, the Hawaii Supreme Court, following the passage of the amendment, ruled that "The passage of the marriage amendment placed HRS § 572-1 on new footing. The marriage amendment validated HRS § 572-1 by taking the statute out of the ambit of the equal protection clause of the Hawai'i Constitution, at least insofar as the statute, both on its face and as applied, purported to limit access to the marital status to opposite-sex couples. Accordingly, whether or not in the past it was violative of the equal protection clause in the foregoing respect, HRS § 572-1 no longer is. In light of the marriage amendment, HRS § 572-1 must be given full force and effect." Because the remedy sought by the plaintiffs – access to marriage licenses – was no longer available, this reversed Chang's ruling and remanded the case for entry of judgment in favor of the defendant. 21st century 2001–2009 In 2001, the Legislature reversed itself and raised the age of consent from 14 to 16. When then-Governor Ben Cayetano vetoed the bill, the Legislature overrode his veto, the first legislative override in the state's history. In 2006, Joe Bertram became the first openly LGBT member of the Hawaii State Legislature, serving in the office until 2011. In 2009, Hawaii House Bill 444 became the first pro-civil unions bill to pass committee level. It was passed in February by the House of Representatives and was referred to the Senate for approval. However, it remained on the table for the 2009 session. 2010–present Hawaii House Bill 444 continued to remain in limbo in the Senate for much of the 2010 session. It was finally passed on April 29, 2010. Then-governor Linda Lingle vetoed the bill on July 6, saying that such matters regarding same-sex unions should be decided by a referendum. The bill and its defeat figured in the following gubernatorial election, with Neil Abercrombie coming out in support of the bill and opponent Duke Aiona coming out against. Abercrombie won the election, and the Democratic majority in both chambers set to enact the bill. The