Date: 	Tue, 9 Apr 1996 20:53:40 -1000
From: Mia H H Lam <mial@hawaii.edu>
Subject: HAWAII APR 9 (fwd)



		FIERCE PARLIAMENTARY MANEUVERING

	Last Thursday, Senator Milton Holt played fast and loose with
parliamentary rules, earning the praise of Father Mark Alexander for
"courage", by gutting a bill that would de-license doctors who have sex
with their patients and putting in its place a bill to define marriage
to between a man and a woman only.  This earned Holt the contempt of
the Honolulu Advertiser (Saturday morning) and sharp criticism from
a number of Senators.  For example, Senator Ros Baker accused Holt of
encouraging public cynicism about legislative processes.  Holt did all
this as Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee.

        Holt wouldn't let hermp's lobbyist have a copy of the inserted
text until after the meeting began, making a mockery of public review and
comment, while opponents of same gender marriage had been alerted as to
what's up.  Committee members such as Vice-Chair Les Ihara and Senator
David Ige were likewise deceived as to the intent of the committee meeting.

	For those of you who are (thankfully) spared a profound knowledge 
of Hawaii political characters,  Senator Holt has had a troubled married
and personal life:  wife-beating, assaulting a policeman in New Orleans,
and letting his wife and kids live for three months in a car on Sand Island
Access Road (source:  Barry Shain).

	However, in a 7 hour closed caucus of the Senate democrats, Holt
won something.  The language which he inserted into the doctor bill will
be put in a Senate Judiciary Committee bill on the use of "and" and "or"
in statutory language.  Judiciary Chair Rey Graulty, and HERMP attorney
Dan Foley, both point out that the bill is ineffective---the courts can
review it and will likely strike it down.  This tranfer of the language
to a Graulty bill ensures that Senator Graulty will have a say in the
House-Senate Conference Committee on the bill.

	Hawaii's Future Today praised the Senate's action as keeping the
issue alive and permitting a later opportunity to turn the bill into
a constitutional amendment to ban same gender marriage [the key threat
to HERMP's successful court case].  Presumably, Hawaii's Future Today
intends to attempt that change in the bill today on the Senate floor,
later on the House floor, or in the conference committee. 

	In the quiet, low budget world of hermp's lobbying, 7 more religious
leaders public support civil same gender marriage:  Rev. Judy Sakae (Church
Ke'auhou), Rev. Darrow L. K. Aiona (Episcopalian), The Rev. Canon John
Paul Engelcke (Episcopalian), Rabbi Stephan F. Barack (Temple Bet Shalom),
Rev. Johanna Perri (Windward Unity Church), Rev. Ken Armstrong (American
Fellowship Church), Rabbi Avi Magid (Temple Emanu-El).

					Best Regards,


					Tom Ramsey
					HERMP Co-Coordinator

P.S.  Web sites for HERMP information:
http://www.xq.com/hermp/
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/usa/hawaii/marriage.updates/
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/orgs/hermp/
http://www.tnight.com/hermp/
The latter is provided by a BBS, which also provides BBS access
to HERMP messages: Tropical Night BBS (808) 235-5558
telnet:bbs.tnight.com
 
For the official report of the Commission on Sexual Orientation and
the Law:
http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/solcvr.html
 
For legal documents related to Baehr v. Lewin (now Baehr v. Miike):
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/legal/
which has a link to marriage and Baehr v. Lewin
 
For national as well as Hawaii information:
http://nether.net/~rod/html/sub/marriage.html
http://www.well.com/user/davadam/hermp.html