Letters for Sunday, February 15, 2009

• Time to take our minds out of the gutter

• Mahalo County Council and Kaua‘i Public Land Trust

• Ocean safety conference ‘a renewal of our vows’

• Smells dogmatic

Time to take our minds out of the gutter

Gay marriage has been in the news again in Hawai‘i. As in other states, gays in Hawai‘i have been fighting to get their states to pass some form of legalized gay marriage.

One of the arguments used against us is that the “vast majority” of residents oppose legalized gay marriages. I would submit that regardless of how the “vast majority” feels, there must be a way of providing committed, loving, gay couples with benefits currently only now accorded to heterosexual couples. Rights of survivorship, spousal medical and life insurance benefits, etc.

Many gay couples are in loving, monogamous relationships. My life partner and I have been together for over 28 years. This is longer than many straight, married relationships. Yes, not all gays remain in a long term, committed relationship. But the same can be said for heterosexual couples.

Another argument is that gay marriages would “normalize homosexuality.” I can only point out that homosexual behavior already is perfectly normal and natural for homosexuals. As a gay person, it would be both abnormal and unnatural for me to take part in heterosexual behavior and activities.

Of course, the biggest argument is that homosexuality is a matter of choice. Something you can turn on and turn off. Not only is this not true, it is not even logical.

Homosexuality is not something you do in the bed. A homosexual is a person who is physically and lovingly attracted to persons of his own sex. You certainly cannot chose who you are attracted to.

The only choice to be made is whether or not you chose to act on your attraction. Will you be true to yourself and live your life as you have been naturally inclined, or will you deny and hide your feelings, go against your true nature and try to live a heterosexual lifestyle.

It is time to take our minds out of the gutter. We need to stop looking at who we love and instead look at how we love. Relationships, whether homo or heterosexual, are a lot more than sex. It is love, commitment, sharing, and yes, it is sex also. These feelings are the same for everyone, gay or straight.

• Loyd Clayton, Hanapepe

Mahalo County Council and Kaua‘i Public Land Trust

I would like to thank Kaua‘i Public Land Trust Executive Director Jennifer Luck,  JoAnn Yukimura , Bill Chase and Kaipo Asing for supporting the expansion of Black Pot Beach Park. 

As a native Hawaiian, I applaud their vision to preserve and improve one of the last places on Hanalei bay that commercial million-dollar vacation rental estates have not yet affected.

You can still drive and park on the beach, and with proper permits, one can spend the night and enjoy waking up to the sights and sounds of Hanalei Bay.

Let’s strive to keep it this way, it’s Kaua‘i’s way of life. I urge all council members and Kaua‘i legislators to support the Kaua‘i Public Land Trust in this endeavor.   

• Sophronia Noelani Diego-Josselin, Kapa‘a

Ocean safety conference ‘a renewal of our vows’

In case you missed our ads this week, here’s one more reminder for Kaua‘i’s second ocean safety conference from 8:30 to 4 p.m., Friday, at the Hilton.

The goal of the conference is to bring Kauaians together, particularly those who interact with our visitors, to review how we can all sharpen our skills in Kaua‘i’s drowning prevention effort. We had our first such conference two years ago, and I would categorize this one as a “renewal of our vows.”

We’re not naive. We know that there is a great deal of suffering taking place on Kaua‘i right now in any number of areas and issues. But this is one form of severe suffering that we can have an impact on with just a little bump in our education and vigilance and comittment.

 Registration is $25, includes continental breakfast and a gourmet deli luncheon. We’re offering 2 scholarships apiece to each high school, if they can free up a couple of interested students. You will find that there will be some very interesting lectures in the morning, and then smaller interactive discussion groups after lunch.

  You can register by calling 241-4984, e-mailing oceansafety@kauai.gov, or on-line by accessing kauaiexplorer.com/KOSAC. You may certainly register at the door, but an advance head count does help with planning meals. Please join us.

• Dr. Monty Downs, Kaua‘i Water Safety Task Force

Smells dogmatic

I’m writing on behalf of the dogs of Kaua‘i. My name is Knuckles and if you hang on the beach in Hanalei you may have seen me.

Locals and tourists call me Good Dog, sometimes a Disney Dawg or the Happy Hound of Hanalei. Now, I don’t know what these words mean but I do know I make people happy and they do the same for me.

Recently, I was caught on the beach without a leash and taken to Dog Jail. Since then, I have learned that if I’m ever seen again at Pine Trees Park, even in the parking lot, even in the back of my truck, my owner may be fined $500. That’s a lot of dog bones and I find this doggone outrageous.

I have discussed this situation with my elders — Rufus, Rueger, Razor, Barney, Betty and Zoey. They have their noses close to the ground and have told me that nice dogs have always run free. If this is all about keeping the beaches clean and safe, then I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.

While hundreds of my friends have been arrested for roaming the beach, far fewer have been arrested for driving vehicles on the same turf. I admit to occasionally peeing on a stray coconut, but I respect my beach. People that drive their cars or trucks on the beach are the ones that should be arrested. Yet we are the ones being pushed into cages and that’s just not right.

To paraphrase Ghandi, a society can be judged by how it treats its animals. Sorry if I sound dogmatic, please don’t blame me. I’m just a dog that smells the truth.

• Rick “Knuckles” Dierker, Hanalei