LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Civil unions bill and proponents refuse to go away

The civil unions legislation, House Bill 444, was born out of deception and darkness and was on a fast track to passage until Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference brought the issue to light with the truth of what civil unions meant and what it is intended to accomplish.

Despite the bill’s innocuous sounding title, and its proponents’ claims that it would not affect traditional marriage, the bill plainly stated that, “All the rights, privileges and responsibilities of marriage would apply to civil unions.” On Thursday, Feb. 5, the House Judiciary Committee held House Bill 444’s only public hearing on the House side. Those in favor of the measure outnumbered opponents four to one. Not surprisingly, the committee passed the bill 13 to 0.

The bill passed the full house the following week with only 10 members dissenting. But then the campaign to oppose the bill and the prayers of the faithful took effect. In the final House vote on the measure two days later, 17 votes (one third) were recorded in opposition.

The red-shirted voices

House Bill 444 moved to the Senate, where swift passage was also expected until three providential events turned the tide against the measure. The first was a meeting of several major Christian church leaders at the capitol, including Bishop Larry Silva, where commitments were made to unify the body of Christ to work against the bill. The pastors and priests took a historical picture of unity in the shadow of Father Damien’s statue and beneath the state seal which translated reads, “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.” That picture later became the symbol of Christian unity in print ads opposing the measure.

The ad also heralded the gathering of Christian voices wearing red shirts on a Sunday afternoon on Feb. 22 at the State Capitol. An estimated 12 to 15 thousand people crammed the capitol rotunda, spilling onto the sidewalks and even across the street. We were told later that it was the largest gathering of people at one time at the capitol. A sea of red was captured in photos and videos of God’s people gathered in unity to sing praise songs, listen to inspirational speeches and take action to sign cards and testimonies in opposition to House Bill 444.

The third display of God’s will was demonstrated at the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations committee’s hearing on the civil unions bill on Feb. 24. Inspired by the rally, opponents then outnumbered the proponents six to one.

After a marathon 16-hour hearing which started on Tuesday morning and ended in the wee hours of the next morning, the six-member committee voted a three to three tie, with Senators Robert Bunda, Mike Gabbard and Sam Slom opposing the measure. That meant the measure could not advance from the committee. The even number and composition of the committee were providentially the prime reasons the bill did not move out of committee to a floor vote. At that point, many felt the floor vote would have been unanimously in favor of the measure.

The bill refuses to die

Despite the stunning turn of events, some senators refused to accept defeat and in an unusual procedural move, acted to bring the civil unions bill to the floor for a vote on March 25. By then, the community of Christians had been busy calling, e-mailing and faxing all the senators and many more had been praying for them as well. The bill failed to garner the nine votes needed to bring it to the Senate floor that day, which was surprising considering the votes in support of calling for a floor vote was twice the number needed the previous week.

The second week of April saw a desperate attempt by the proponents of the civil unions bill to present compromise measures as a means of securing votes needed to pass the measure. None of those measures came to a vote thanks to the steadfast opposition of the Senate Judiciary Committee chair and his committee.

Now, all that remains is the possibility of another move to bring the bill for a senate floor vote or the Senate President calling for a committee of the whole (or all the senators) to consider an amendment to the bill. Technically, all of this could occur this session up until May 5.

We thank God and we thank all of you who took the time and made the effort to have your voices heard. We ask that you continue to pray and remain vigilant as the Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference continue to watch this and other measures as they surface.

It has become apparent that civil unions and other forms of same sex marriage proposals will continue to be advanced not just here in Hawaii but across the nation as well. It should be noted that Vermont passed a same sex marriage bill and Iowa’s supreme court ruled that their state ban on same sex marriage could not be upheld according to their constitution. Readers should note that because of these precedents, challenges to marriage laws in other states can also be expected.

While the civil unions bill required the major portion of our time and attention, a great deal of behind the scene efforts were quietly expended to keep legalized gambling and physician assisted suicide “off the table.” But these measures will continue to surface again, if not next year, probably during the next session.

Readers are urged to keep up to date on the civil unions issue as well as other issues of concern at www.hawaiifamilyforum.org