Hawaii state Rep. Jo Jordan, who is
openly lesbian, on Wednesday voted against a gay marriage bill.
Jordan, a Democrat, criticized
colleagues on the Hawaii House floor for assuming that she would vote
in favor of the bill.
“No, nobody's going to beat me up.
Nobody's going to throw me out of my [LGBT] community – I'm not
quite sure of that,” Jordan said shortly before the House gave an
initial nod to an amended version of the bill.
(Related: Hawaii
House gives initial nod to gay marriage bill.)
Jordan added that despite her support
for marriage equality she could not support the current language in
the bill.
“I might vote against something that
I personally believe in. I personally believe I should have the
right [to marry],” she said. “You know how hard it is for me to
say no? I have to say no.”
A final vote in the House is scheduled
for Friday.