Judge Rejects Last-Ditch Effort to Stop Hawaii's Civil Unions

A federal judge has rejected requests from two churches in Hawaii to block the state's civil union law from going into effect on Sunday.

The Emmanuel Temple and the Lighthouse Outreach Center Assembly of God argued that the law should be held because churches could be fined if they bar gay and lesbian couples from using their facilities for union ceremonies, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports.

U.S. district judge Michael Seabright wrote that churches are not "entitled to the restraining order." A spokesman for the attorney general's office said the civil union law will "go into effect, as planned on Jan. 1, 2012."