Date: Mon, 26 Feb 96 17:49:44 HST From: ramsey@math.hawaii.edu (Tom Ramsey) Subject: HAWAII FEB 26 SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE VOTES ON THREE BILLS Today, Feb. 26, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted on three bills: a) To create same-gender marriage by legislative act It was voted down 1 to 6; only Senator Matt Matsunaga voted for it. b) To ban same-gender marriage by amending Hawaii's Constitution It was voted down 3 to 4. Senators McCartney, Matsuura and Anderson were for the constitutional amendment; Senators Graulty, Tam, Matsunaga, and Chumbley voted against. c) To create domestic partnerships, similar to the recommendation of the Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law (but with some troubling amendments), the vote was 5 to 2: only Anderson (the Republican) and Matsuura voted against DP. Also, today, a coalition of conservative legislators have filed some sort of court brief to oppose HERMP in Baehr v. Miike (now scheduled for July). Last week the Governor said something in a press conference about there being no compelling state interest to block same-gender marriage from being gained through the courts. I'm guessing that these conservative legislators aren't satisfied with the administration's legal efforts to stop same-gender marriage in the courts. Tom Ramsey Co-Coordinator Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project P.S. The Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project, HERMP, is the sole support of the work of Dan Foley on Baehr v. Lewin (Foley is the attorney who makes all court appearances on behalf of the plaintiff couples). Please be generous in support of HERMP; Hawaii is a small state, and the tiny gay and lesbian community here is very active in advocacy work which HERMP cannot address. Donations to HERMP are fully tax-deductible, and should be made out to GLCC-HERMP 1521 Alexander Street, #503 Honolulu, HI 96822. The HERMP branch in Kona, on the Big Island, has produced a T-shirt for sale. One can send a check for $17.50 to HERMP, P.O.Box 902, Captain Cook, HI 96704, together with a note about being sent a T-shirt (S, M, L, XL, XXL). It is also available in a tank top. The design is multi-color on white. A large triangle points down, with the letters h.e.r.m.p above the triangle, some male-male, female-female symbols in the border of the triangle and some palm trees. To place an email order for T-shirts, or to obtain more information, please email skippero@aol.com. An image of the T-shirt is available via the WEB on http://www.qrd.org/QRD/www/usa/maine/hawaii-tee.html Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 18:25:51 -1000 From: Mia H H Lam Subject: HAWAII FEB 26 II (fwd) INTERIM EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF HAWAII ENDORSES DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS The following appeared today, Feb. 26, in the Letters to the Editor of the Honolulu Advertiser: Episcopal Church backs equal treatment for gays The ongoing discussions about same sex marriage and domestic partnerships, the proposal by Gov. Ben Cayetano, and the commentary (Jan. 10) by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hawaii all prompt me to take this opportunity to state the position of the Episcopal Church in the United States. In resolutions dating back to 1976, and most recently reaffirmed in 1991, we have consistently called for equal protection under the law for gay persons. While emphatically stating our support for these rights, we have also reaffirmed the unique place of the religious aspects of heterosexual marriage as belonging in and to the church and not the state. The official position of the Episcopal Church, as put forth by our General Convention, calls upon municipal councils, state legislatures and Congress to approve measures giving gay and lesbian couples protection. These include: "bereavement and family leave policies, health benefits, pension benefits, real estate transfer tax benefits, and commitments to mutual support enjoyed by non-gay married couples." Therefore, I want to join others in calling on the Legislature to recognize domestic partnerships "as a civil rights issue and cease denial of legal and societal benefits of this relationship strictly on the basis of gender." THE RT. REV. GEORGE HUNT Interim Bishop of Hawaii (Episcopal) Mahalo nui loa! Tom Ramsey Co-Coordinator, HERMP Date: Mon, 26 Feb 96 18:24:28 HST From: ramsey@math.hawaii.edu (Tom Ramsey) Subject: HAWAII FEB 26 III BAPTIST MINISTER ENDORSES SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE The Rev. Danette Kong Poole February 20, 1996 Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Rey Graulty, Chair Hawaii State Legislature Honolulu, Hawaii Dear Senator Graulty and Committee Members, Please include the attached testimony in support of SB3112 in the February 22 hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. I favor the Commission's version of the Domestic Partnership bill (without the amendment of Senate Draft 1), and oppose SB3114, which provides for a constitutional amendment. I am an ordained, heterosexual, Baptist minister, born and reared in Hawai'i. Prior to the birth of my son in 1994, I served four and one- half years as Coordinator of Hospital Ministry at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children. My training as a hospital chaplain includes a Master of Divinity degree, an internship in Louisville, Kentucky, and a residency at The Queen's Medical Center here in Honolulu. I am also a member of PFLAG -- Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. As the sister of a lesbian, and as the friend, relative, and minister to many other gays and lesbians, I cannot be silent as others actively seek to deny homosexuals the civil rights to which they are entitled. Please consider my testimony as you decide upon this important legislation. Sincerely, The Rev. Danette Kong Poole enc. TESTIMONY OF The Rev. Danette Kong Poole IN SUPPORT OF SB3112 presented to THE SENATE COMMITTE ON THE JUDICIARY February 22, 1996 Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to testify before you. I am an ordained, heterosexual, Baptist minister, born and reared in Hawai'i. Prior to the birth of my son in 1994, I served four and one- half years as Coordinator of Hospital Ministry at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children. My training as a hospital chaplain includes a Master of Divinity degree, an internship in Louisville, Kentucky, and a residency at The Queen's Medical Center here in Honolulu. I am also a member of PFLAG -- Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. As the sister of a lesbian, and as the friend, relative, and minister to many other gays and lesbians, I cannot be silent as others actively seek to deny homosexuals the civil rights to which they are entitled. My family background includes a long tradition of ordained Christian ministers and missionaries. When my sister "came out" to us in 1979, more difficult than facing the reaction of family members was her fear of embarassing or shaming us. Yet, her courage has challenged my personal faith and helped deepen my understanding of God. During my divinity studies in seminary, I prayerfully examined and struggled with Biblical interpretation in association with sexual identity. The highly vocal perspectives that singled out homosexuality as the most perverse, wicked, and despicable sin did not coincide with the intelligent, genuine, spiritual individual who is my sister. In fact, such rhetoric from the pulpits paled against the churches' mysterious silence surrounding the epidemic of beatings and murders of women by their heterosexual husbands. I wondered why Jesus spent so much time castigating the leaders of his religion and imploring the rich to feed the poor, but said NOT ONE WORD about homosexuality. TESTIMONY OF THE REV. DANETTE KONG POOLE Hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary February 22, 1996 page two With the onslaught of AIDS in the mid-1980's came the vicious pronouncements from the religious "right" of God's judgment against homosexuals. I conveniently found myself living in the South, where, just three decades earlier, it had been illegal for my parents to marry. Laws in my mother's home state of Mississippi would not allow Mom and Dad's marriage due to the difference in their ethnicity. Scripture passages galore were quoted to them against interracial marriage. I am thankful for the courage of Kentucky lawmakers, whose decisions made it possible for my parents to unite in matrimony in the Bluegrass State (and, indirectly, I suppose, made it possible for me to testify before you today). In the Georgia hospital where I first began working with persons living with AIDS (whom I shall refer to as PLWAs), I heard others whisper about what sinful activities these patients had been involved in. On occasion, Biblical passages against homosexuality were quoted (At that point, the PLWAs I worked with were specifically gay men). I recognized the attitudes my parents had faced thirty years ago were similar to those now encountered by PLWAs. Those same attitudes were apparent thousands of miles away when I returned to Honolulu as a chaplaincy resident at The Queen's Medical Center in 1988. My work with PLWAs exposed me to the judgment, fear, and prejudice faced by those it infects. But it was also through this work that AIDS became my welcome teacher about homosexuality. Homosexual PLWAs represented a variety of backgrounds and careers. One of the funerals I took part in was for a gay Navy sailor who had served his country faithfully and was buried with full military honors. A young man, who had on many occasions shared with me the depth of his Christian faith and his grief over being ousted from his church, requested that I come sing his favorite hymns and pray with him as he lay dying. Another proudly recounted how he had designed and implemented the entire computer system for a well-known international corporation. TESTIMONY OF THE REV. DANETTE KONG POOLE Hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary February 22, 1996 page three In working with a devoted male couple, each of whom eventually died of their infection, I witnessed a love which surpassed the commitments of many heterosexual unions I know. If we had found ourselves in a different time and place, I recognize now that I would have gladly officiated over their same-sex marriage. There is still much discussion among authorities as to the origins of homosexuality, with mounting evidence to support the belief it is part of the physical nature some individuals are born with. This perception corroborates my experience of gays and lesbians and my position that homosexuality is not a sexual perversion or an illness - - God created some people homosexual, just as I have been created heterosexual, with brown eyes and size 8 feet. Further, I am convinced that, to insist individuals live a lifestyle contrary to the manner in which they were created, is to demand they live dishonestly, deceitfully, and -- sinfully. Likewise, I believe that to prevent people from loving fully and completely in the manner God intended is cruel and sinful on the part of society. That is why I reject the position that homosexuals should remain celibate their entire lives. At present our society does not officially sanction any means for homosexuals to express their sexuality through committed, monagamous relationships. Those who preach loudest against homosexual promiscuity must remember that we have not afforded gays and lesbians any legal, society-supported alternative beyond celibacy. Additionally, the argument that the main purpose of marriage is propagation of the human race ignores millions of childless heterosexual couples who do not appreciate the implied negation of their relationships. Surely for such couples there is more to marriage than simply satisfying one's sexual needs or producing heirs. We are sadly mistaken if we believe those are the main motives homosexuals have for marrying! Many homosexual TESTIMONY OF THE REV. DANETTE KONG POOLE Hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary February 22, 1996 page four couples have already been living together in committed and loving relationships for years (some for decades!). It is high time we legally recognize these relationships and grant them the rights to which they are entitled. There is a dangerous and false perception that all homosexuals are bent on seducing heterosexuals or preying upon innocent children. Why is there not more concern raised over the greater percentages of heterosexuals who commit sex crimes? For those who worry about the offspring of gays and lesbians, may I offer this word of observation: homosexual couples I know who have children are providing a loving environment for raising some of the finest, well-adjusted, unbiased citizens of our future -- whether those children be homo- OR heterosexual. And I am proud and fortunate that my own son has such a wonderful auntie in my lesbian sister. I trust her care of him implicitly. Members of the Senate, I ask you to judiciously, compassionately, and courageously pass Senate Bill 3112. Mahalo.