Let's be frank - Hawai`i has given us all a lot. Let us count some of the ways.
* Macho TV heroes:
Steve McGarrett & Thomas Magnum
* Awesome theme songs:
Hawaii Five-O & Magnum, P.I.
* One of hippest activists of '08 (Kelly Hu):
* The best photo diaries:
http://haole-in-hawaii.dailykos.com/
* The President of the United States (Barack Obama) & the Vice-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (Mazie Hirono):
It's time for you to give back. Follow me to learn how.
Thanks for tolerating the silly intro to a very serious topic.
Frankly, I'm a little desperate for attention because the Hawai`i State Senate is on the verge of deciding whether to enact civil unions. Advocates for civil rights and equal justice need help, just like their counterparts in California who are battling to overturn Prop. 8.
Here's where things stand:
Senators need to decide whether to let the civil unions bill die in a deadlocked committee or pull the bill to the floor for a vote.
Three of my recent diaries provide some background information:
Act now to support civil unions in Hawai`i (March 4, 2009)
Action need to pass civil unions in Hawai`i (March 1, 2009)
Hawai`i civil unions may be decided on Tuesday - let your voice be heard! updated 2X (Feb. 21, 2009)
Hawai`i's alternative press is making the case to have the bill voted on by the full Senate.
This is from the current Maui Time Weekly:
Opponents of HB444 like to point out that in 1998, Hawaii voters approved by a wide margin a constitutional amendment that gave lawmakers the authority to define marriage as between one man and one woman—an authority the legislature went on to exercise. (It's interesting to note that many of the people who support this "traditional" definition of marriage cite the Christian Bible, which, while it does contain one famous line condemning homosexuality, is also rife with tales that seem to condone incest and polygamy.) But here's the point: when it comes to fundamental human rights, the will of the majority doesn't matter. Surely all thinking people would agree that even if 90 percent of the population wanted to legalize murder—or, to use a more plausible and analogous example, outlaw interracial marriage—it would be the government's duty to intervene. That's the reason we have a representative democracy, at least in theory: to provide a filter, a safeguard against mob rule. We're often frustrated by our government and its lack of responsiveness, and we have a right to be.
But if the state Senate pulls HB444 out of the Judiciary Committee where it's currently deadlocked, puts it to a full vote and passes it (something the House of Representatives already did), they will have accomplished a noble thing, and offered an all-too-rare example of governmental action that's on the side of justice. By making Hawaii just the seventh state in the nation to allow gay marriage or civil unions, our elected officials will have ignored the rabid cries of Gabbard and his ilk, set aside the mass of red-shirted protestors who descended on the Capitol in the misguided belief that they were "defending the institution of marriage," and struck a blow for progress in our time.
Let's pause for a moment to consider this notion of "defending marriage." The divorce rate in America hovers around 50 percent (some estimates place it even higher). In Las Vegas, you can get hitched in a drive-through chapel. It's difficult to imagine homosexuals trivializing marriage any more than heterosexuals already have. Anyway, this fight isn't about ceremony and symbolism. Whatever the law says, gay people can exchange rings, drink champagne and eat cake in front of a collection of friends and family, with any religious trappings they choose to attach. At issue are things like filing taxes, adopting children, making critical medical decisions. Granting committed couples these fundamental rights does not harm or undermine anyone. Period.
And this is from the current Honolulu Weekly:
Krieger reminds the senators that they have taken an oath to defend the constitution, one that has as a basic tenet that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law. "And I have taken another oath," she says in closing. "Albeit a private one, to do everything in my power to help make Hawai‘i a place in which my wonderful, precious students can grow, flourish and build strong, loving families, as is each of our birthright in a community that holds ‘ohana—‘ohana for everyone—as the first among our cherished values. Please, please support HB 444. It is long past time."
Sen. Sam Slom is the first to respond. "Thank you, Ms. Krieger, for your testimony, and for lecturing us," he sneers. The audience, packed with opponents to the civil unions legislation, erupts in cheers. Many are jeering and snickering at Krieger. They boo, not loudly, but plenty loud enough to hear. One observer described the atmosphere as "like a hate party. She’s baring her soul and people are mocking her, and the people she’s appealing to for help are mocking her right back."
The civil unions bill failed to advance out of the Judiciary Committee that day. Senators deadlocked, three votes on each side. Because Hawai‘i law allows for the full Senate to pull a deadlocked bill out of committee and vote on it as a whole body, however, legislators still have it in their power to send Gov. Linda Lingle a bill to be signed into law that would create equal status for lesbian, gay and transgendered couples—something that many senators have told reporters that, if the whole Senate is allowed to vote, it will almost certainly approve the bill, just as the House did.
In recent days, however, signs have emerged that the Senate may decide not to act. Senate President Colleen Hanabusa told reporters last week that the bill may be left to die thanks to a deep reluctance on the part of the Senate to override the committee process.
There are three easy ways you can help:
- Register with and donate to the Family Equality Coalition:
http://familyequalitycoalition.org
- Donate to the ACLU of Hawai`i:
http://www.acluhawaii.org
- Simultaneously e-mail all 25 senators:
sens@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Mahalo!