Date: 	Fri, 24 Jan 1997 12:46:45 -1000
From: Mia H H Lam <mial@hawaii.edu>
Subject: LOCAL NEWS JAN 24 (fwd)


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 11:52:42 -1000
From: ramsey@math.hawaii.edu
To: ramsey-list@math.hawaii.edu
Subject: LOCAL NEWS JAN 24

			THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

		(FOR HAWAII RESIDENTS ONLY; PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD)

	The House passed a Constitutional Amendment that would give
the Legislature the power to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples,
by a vote of 44 to 7.

	The seven brave souls are Ed Case, Eric Hamakawa, Mina Morita,
Scott Saiki, Dwight Takamine, Roy Takumi and David Tarnas.  PLEASE send
them thank you letters and phone calls.  And, yes, they WILL need campaign
funds and vigorous campaign help in 1998.

	The vote last year once had 14 "no" votes.  But we lost CA opponents
Len Pepper, Eve Anderson, Devon Nekoba, and Jim Shon in the fall election
(and failed to get Terrance Tom by 54 votes!).  Many House members drew the
obvious conclusion from that, and decided to bow to the prevailing winds
(and fight another day?).  

	[By the way, two of the people who voted for the Constitutional
Amendment in the House last year were also defeated:  Billy Swain and Annelle
Amaral; also, one person voting for the CA last year resigned to try become
the Big Island mayor and lost that race---Virginia Isbell.  Finally,
Mary Jane McMurdo retired from her House seat in Waikiki; she was a vocal
opponent of same-gender marriage; her Republican replacement Galen Fox is
modestly better than her.  Nevertheless, the House has decided that the
same gender marriage is too dangerous to support.]
	
	The action now moves to the Senate, which reveal its own
Constitutional Amendment today.  Avery Chumbley and Matt Matsunaga,
some of our firmest supporters, have crafted a CA that defines marriage
as between a man and woman only but also requires that all the benefits
of civil marriage must be made available to same-gender marriage.  I've
not seen the language of this CA, so I know this language only  by hearsay.

	IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT WE SUPPORT THE SENATE AS MUCH
AS POSSIBLE IN ITS POSITION THAT EQUALITY OF RIGHTS MUST BE PRESERVED.
Please stay in contact with your Senators and any others that you might
know.

	Terrance Tom and Joe Souki are using the Catholic Church rally
today to ram their version of "equality" through the Senate.  Don't let
them!  Keep them on the principle of equality.


					Best Regards,


					Tom Ramsey