About three dozen proponents of gay rights gathered Wednesday afternoon, waving oversize rainbow flags and holding signs with phrases like “What’s wrong with love?” and “Civil Union = Economic Justice” in front of the Historic County Building along Rice Street
About three dozen proponents of gay rights gathered Wednesday afternoon, waving oversize rainbow flags and holding signs with phrases like “What’s wrong with love?” and “Civil Union = Economic Justice” in front of the Historic County Building along Rice Street in Lihu‘e two days before the state Senate gathers for a potentially historic vote in Honolulu.
LIHU‘E — They have already weather decades of intolerance, so what’s a little wind and rain?
About three dozen proponents of gay rights gathered Wednesday afternoon, waving oversize rainbow flags and holding signs with phrases like “What’s wrong with love?” and “Civil Union = Economic Justice” in front of the Historic County Building along Rice Street in Lihu‘e two days before the state Senate gathers for a potentially historic vote in Honolulu.
House Bill 444, if it becomes law, would extend the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union.
“It needs to be viewed more as the government has a responsibility to treat all its citizens equally,” said Kipukai Kuali‘i, one of the event organizers. He said the issue has been “clouded by religious beliefs” and confusion will continue “until we stand up and provide education and provide examples of what the truth is.”
One attendee shared a story about a gay friend who was unable to visit his partner of 40 years in the hospital, while another said laws disallowing interracial marriage — including between those of Asian descent and Caucasians — survived until the 1960s and would impact the lives of many state lawmakers if it were still in effect here.
Kuali‘i referenced the recent Martin Luther King holiday, which he said “reminds us that we have to stand up for civil rights and be there for the long haul.”
“We hope for equal rights for all people. … It’s another form of discrimination,” said YWCA Executive Director Renae Hamilton, also a member of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) who was holding a sign that said the suicide rate is three times higher among gay teens. “What kind of future do we want for our children?”
‘Oma‘o resident Melissa Egusa said she “didn’t know which way was up” after her son, now 32, came out of the closet in recent years. While she said she always supported gay rights, her son “made it more personal.”
“I couldn’t see why they don’t have the same rights the rest of us do,” Egusa said.
That could change in Hawai‘i if the bill currently sitting before the Senate is passed on Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, a Democrat representing Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau and a proponent of HB 444 who pushed hard for the measure a year ago, said Wednesday he was told by the chair of the committee handling the bill that it will come to the floor Friday, and Hooser said he is “cautiously optimistic” that 18 senators — one more than is needed to override a potential veto by Republican Gov. Linda Lingle — would support the measure.
“Last year I was sure that we had 18 votes in support, and then only to find out that some of those votes weren’t there at the end. … Last year was a surprise for a lot of us when objections or distractions came out of the woodwork,” Hooser said. “I am cautiously optimistic that we have 18 members of the Hawai‘i state Senate who support the passage of a strong civil unions bill.”
One potential snag is that the bill currently before the Senate has a implementation date of Jan. 1, 2010 because the bill was drafted a year ago with the idea that it would be passed in 2009.
The Senate has received a pair of somewhat conflicting legal opinions — one that states the Senate can pass the bill as is, and one that warns Lingle could use the technicality as a justification to veto the bill because there would be no time for state departments to organize forms and gear up to implement the law, Hooser said.
“At this moment, I believe it would be better to amend the bill (by fixing the date). What that means it requires one more vote and extends the process by two to four days or so,” Hooser said. “My preference would be to pass out the cleanest, strongest bill we can, but it’s unclear whether that is the consensus of the Senate or if they believe we can pass the bill as is.”
Hooser said he would also vote in favor of a motion to approve the bill as currently written because he believes “it’s government’s responsibility to treat people equally under the law.”
Whichever direction the Senate chooses to go, the bill will need to be sent back to the state House before final passage because it has been amended in two ways since the House first passed it last year, Hooser said.
The Senate last year removed a reference to marriage from the bill and added a clause that would allow opposite-sex couples to partake in civil unions in addition to same-sex couples, Hooser said, adding that “the easiest and most expeditious thing” would be for the state House to just agree to the Senate’s version.
“If there’s any substantive differences and they want to make further changes, it would go to conference, but most would agree that we want to avoid conference,” Hooser said.
Last year, Rep. Mina Morita joined Hooser in supporting HB 444, while Reps. Roland Sagum and Jimmy Tokioka voted against final passage.
“I remain optimistic, you never know. … It’s difficult for a lot of politicians because it’s an election year, but they should be more like Sen. Hooser and Rep. Morita,” Kuali‘i said. “We’re supporting each other and standing together. We’re not going away and continuing on regardless of how this immediate vote goes because it’s the right thing.”
About three dozen people, many parishioners from King’s Chapel and New Hope churches, gathered along Kaumuali‘i Highway in Lihu‘e, Sunday, to express their opposition to the legislation. Thousands more convened in white shirts in Honolulu in a rally they said aimed to protect traditional marriages.
Civil union proponents have scheduled two more sign-holding events; one Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Lihu‘e Airport intersection, and another on Jan. 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Kukui Grove Center.
For more information, contact Kuali‘i at 212-9192 or visit the PFLAG Kaua‘i Facebook page or senate.hawaii.gov.
