From atropos@aol.net  Mon Apr 11 21:43:04 1994
Subject:      HAWAII MARRIAGE PROJECT

                        HAWAII MARRIAGE PROJECT, APRIL 10

        The stalemate in the Hawaii Senate collapsed last week,
when two of our "fearless-five defenders" on the Senate Judiciaryy
Committee switched sides and voted for the latest Senate draft of
HB2312.  This latest draft defines marriage to be between a man and
a woman and it is so bad that the courts will have little
trouble striking it down.  Unfortunately, it's a harbinger of things to come.
This week two more Senators announced that they would support a constitutional
amendment to Hawaii's constitution to ban same-sex marriages---there is
no danger of that this year but the constitutional amendment will be
THE topic of the 1995 legislature.

        I'm not sure who's providing the resources, but Senators are being
shown computerized church rolls of Baptist churches listing church members
in their districts.  The liberal-left is clearly being out-organized.

        The entire Senate will vote on the Senate version of HB2312
Tuesday morning; we fear a route:  20 to 5 against us and for the bill.
Because the bill is different from the original House bill (which had
passed the House 34 to 17), there will be a conference committee between
the House and the Senate on the bill.  Due to Senate rules, the two
defectors from our side gained something:  since they voted FOR HB2312,
they are eligible to be on the conference committee (but are not guaranteed
a place).  The two defectors have received public assurances from the
Senate Judiciary Chair that no "significant" changes will be made to the
bill in conference committee.  Already, this promise has been assailed by
the House leadership.  This promise has some importance:  the bill in its
present form is so bad (one could suspect, deliberately so) that it provides
ammunition for us.

        What to do next?  If you're out-of-state, DO NOT contact legislators.
It really pisses them off.  If you're in-state, do your best to win a
few more votes to our side by contacting your own Senators.  If you're
out-of-state, we need serious help in reaching liberal churches at a grassroots
level and the unchurched as well.  Any help in that regard is more than
welcome.

                                   Tom Ramsey
                                   ramsey@math.hawaii.edu