HB-444 Civil Unions

My small universe, the island of Oahu, is on a roller coaster. On my birthday, also the day one of our greatest presidents was born, the state House of Representatives passed the third reading of House Bill 444 - Civil Unions. With only 17 Representatives voting NO HB-444 was passed onto the state Senate. A date to hear testimony to determine whether or not to bring it to the floor was set for Tuesday, February 24 at 9am. Here is where the bulk of the trouble began.

Emails, faxes, and hand-delivered testimony flooded the capitol between February 20 and February 23. In order to testify, written testimony must be received by 4pm the day prior to the hearing. The testimony is available for the public to view online. While the supporters of HB-444 represented themselves in a respectful and eloquent manner, the opponents were largely crude and hateful. One by one the opponents took the microphone and hailed insults directed at the gay community. Their reasons against HB-444 were not rational and often peppered with obviously incorrect "facts." As Alan Spector of Family Equality Coalition revealed during a radio discussion on February 26, during the 18 hours of testimony nearly all the opponents hurled insults and false accusations towards the gay community. On public television and for public record these people either said or wrote hateful words to describe and classify members of the gay community.

What has happened to the seemingly "normal" residents of Hawaii? Members of the gay community are just like members of the straight community. The only difference is that they are not guaranteed the same rights as straight people. This bill is only talking about civil unions, not marriage. In what I think is an attempt at compromise on behalf of the gay community, this bill only addresses civil unions because marriage is too much for some people to accept at this point. This bill has taken too long to come to fruition and is taking far too long to pass. This is a civil rights issue, not a religious issue.

Opponents like to argue that the state voted on this almost 11 years ago in 1998. A lot can happen in 11 years. For instance, since 1998 I have ceased to be a minor. There are thousands of other adults like me that could not vote in 1998 but are now of the age to vote. What about our voice? Since 1998 a host of newly out-of-the-closet members of the gay community could have swayed their parent's thoughts on the matter.

Please contact the senators of Hawaii and let them know you support HB-444. Though the committee failed to pass it because of a 3-3 split there is still a chance. We need to show the state that the red shirts are a vocal minority. Read the testimony online, educate yourself on the bill and you will see that it needs to be passed. Union after union support HB-444. Please join in our fight to secure equal rights for all of our residents. Those of you that oppose think about your reasons. Are they valid? NO Are they legal? NO We voted on marriage almost 11 years ago. It is time for discrimination to end. Next time you act like Council Member Gary Okino remember that homosexuals are people too. Be nice...

www.capitol.hawaii.gov

I also have to caution supporters. If you read the testimony be prepared to read some ignorant, foul, and crazy things. People are nuts, what can I say?