LIHU‘E — In the wake of the news that a bill seeking the legalization of same-sex civil unions could soon be pulled from its deadlocked committee for a vote by the full Hawai‘i Senate, hundreds of red-clad concerned Kaua‘i citizens
LIHU‘E — In the wake of the news that a bill seeking the legalization of same-sex civil unions could soon be pulled from its deadlocked committee for a vote by the full Hawai‘i Senate, hundreds of red-clad concerned Kaua‘i citizens voiced their displeasure Monday afternoon by lining Kaumuali‘i Highway with signs in hand denouncing House Bill 444.
The group, whose hoots and hollers were joined by countless honking horns passing Kukui Grove Shopping Center, featured participants ranging from young students on spring break to a 93-year-old woman.
An attendee was overheard asking, “Does this look like 16 percent?” in a rhetorical response to a poll, conducted this month by QMark Research and Polling and funded by the Family Equality Coalition, a pro-civil unions advocacy group, that shows 81 percent support for equal rights.
“This is not about a church versus gay issue, and it’s not a civil rights issue,” said Kapa‘a resident Kaipolei Kimi, a de facto group spokesman. “This is a civil union issue between a man and a woman.”
Kimi, who said that he was not representing any church groups — many members of the Aloha Church Assembly of God were in attendance — and that the group was simply a collection of residents, said he was “not gay-bashing” but was most concerned with the ramifications of civil unions on students. If the bill passes, Kimi fears the state Board of Education will be forced to add same-sex education to its curriculum.
“We are asking that our politicians and the people of Hawai‘i take one more look at this bill … because there are a lot of people standing against it,” Kimi said, adding that “thousands and thousands” of letters, e-mails and cards have been sent to the office of state Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.
“Sen. Hooser says he advocates and represents the people, but we’re not getting through (to him). He’s not listening,” he said.
Hooser said in an interview last week that he would make a rare motion to pull the bill from the Senate Judiciary Committee, deadlocked 3-3, if none of his colleagues do so before the end of the legislative session.
A successful pull would require nine of 25 senators; passage would require 13 of 25; and an override of a potential veto by Gov. Linda Lingle would require 17 of 25. Lingle has not taken a public position on the issue.
Last month, as the bill passed the Hawai‘i House of Representatives comfortably, Hooser said he believed he had 18 votes in support.
“If there’s a majority consensus, I would make a motion in my capacity as majority leader. If there’s no consensus, then I’ll make the motion as an individual senator,” he said.
For more information on HB 444, visit www.capitol.hawaii.gov.
