Most people properly do not want to inquire into or dictate adults' personal living arrangements. Still, most people also probably do not want a law to provide formal legal approval for "same-sex unions" equal to conventional marriages.

But a majority of Hawaii's legislators do. A same-sex union bill was passed by the Hawaii Legislature last year, but it was vetoed by Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. Hawaii legislators persisted, passed a same-sex union bill this year, and new Democrat Gov. Neil Abercrombie's office says he intends to sign it.

Hawaii then will become the seventh state to provide in effect the same legal status for unmarried couples as for those who are married.

Most states, meanwhile, have passed defense-of-marriage constitutional amendments.

There should be no legal discrimination against anyone, or legal inquiry into the personal and private arrangements of anyone. And too many traditional marriages do unfortunately end in divorce.

But legal action such as Hawaii's is distasteful to many.