Subject: Hawaii Marriage Update: Public Hearings

From: John Flanagan <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1993 18:16:57 EDT

Hi, folks,
     
Here's a long-overdue update on the same-sex marriage case here in
Hawai`i.  It's kind of a long story, though most of the action has
been behind-the-scenes until last week, but I'll try to be as concise
as possible.
     
First, on the legal front:  as you may recall, the State Supreme Court
remanded the case to trial court, ruling that the state will have to
show a compelling interest in denying marriage licenses to same-sex
couples.  Briefs were due by the end of August.  The State Attorney
General's office requested, and was granted, a two-month extension
for filing its brief, so the case will now go (back) to trial court
some time in or after November.
     
Prospects for winning the legal case still look good.  The Attorney
General all but admitted publically this summer that he had no
compelling case to make, when he published a proposal that the
legislature enact a "Denmark-model" domestic partnership act, which
would grant most of the legal rights of marriage, but which would not
be called "marriage."
     
Well, this proposal didn't excite the state legislators much, since it
would require people to move here in order to gain those rights -- a
big concern on a small and overcrowded island.  However, one
legislator was inspired to hold a series of public hearings on all
islands, the first of which was held on Kaua`i last Thursday, and the
last of which will be held in Honolulu on 29 October.
     
So, on the second front, the hearings:  over 200 people turned out for
the hearings on Kaua`i.  Testimony ran about 2-to-1 against same-sex
marriage.  As for the tone of the hearings, to quote one of the
Marriage Project people there, "I was not prepared for the high
anxiety level and bigotry exhibited at the Kaua`i hearings."  (After
my boyfriend returned from the hearings, he looked shell-shocked for
the next two days.)  On the positive side, more people showed up to
testify for same-sex marriage than were expected, and the sheer
hatefulness and rudeness of the opposition made them look bad.  Even
one of the legislators who attended was heard to mutter during a
cigarette break that she had never seen anything like it, and wasn't
sure she could handle it.
     
The hearings were very educational, however, as training for what to
expect in the remaining hearings.  Our side presented a wider variety
of arguments than the other side, and the personal testimony was
especially effective.
     
We need, at this point, to boost our numbers, to match the radical
fundamentalists voice-for-voice.  A variety of measures are due to be
proposed to the legislature this January, from the Attorney General's
DP proposal to a constitutional amendment to weaken the
sex-discrimination clause on which this case is founded.  We need to
convince the legislators to keep their hands off the case, and not
interfere with the Supreme Court's rulings.  It would be a disastrous
precedent for the legislature to start tinkering with the constitution
in order to take away rights anytime the Supreme Court makes a
controversial decision.
     
Fortunately, many of the civil rights organizations in the state have
come out on our side, and have agreed to testify.  The hard part has
been getting individuals to testify in public, for understandable
reasons.  But since personal testimony is so important for an issue
like this, outreach is being stepped up to reach those who can lend a
sympathetic voice.
     
If you know _anyone_ in Hawai`i, or who has connections to here, who
would be willing to testify, _please_ ask them to call the Marriage
Project's legislative chair, Bill Wilson at the ACLU, (808) 545-1722,
or at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, (808) 951-7000, for
more information about the upcoming hearings.
     
On the third front, related stories:  the Kaua`i hearings were filmed
by a camera crew from the ABC news show "Day One," with the story on
the marriage case scheduled to be aired on 27 October.  The footage
which was shot included an interview with one of the plaintiffs
(including an impromptu attack by a phobe on the beach), and a visit
to a Marriage Project strategy meeting.  (I'm the quiet one with the
terrible camera presence who looked like he was trying to melt into
his chair.  (Hey, I was sick that day, and wasn't expecting the
camera...))
     
Also scheduled to be aired on "Day One" that day is an interview with
Yale historian John Boswell, who is working on a book about the
history of same-sex marriages in the Catholic Church.  Yes, you read
that correctly.  I just saw a videotape of a lecture he gave a few
years ago on his research-in-progress, and all I can say is, when his
book comes out this spring, it is going to be _big_ news.  Did you
know that same-sex marriages were performed in Rome, with the blessing
of the Vatican, until the mid-seventeenth century?  Did you know that
not only the church, but also the law, recognized same-sex marriages in
parts of Europe for most of the Middle Ages?  Did you know that the
Vatican still has, on its official syllabus of approved rituals, a
same-sex marriage ceremony?  Keep your eyes peeled for this one...
(BTW the Marriage Project is trying to get Boswell to come to Honolulu
some time in the next few months.)
     
Let me end on the fourth front, fundraising:  the fundraising drive is
going well so far, with the latest news being the receipt of a
challenge grant from a local donor, who will match donations (over a
certain size) from other local donors.  So if you know anybody
sympathetic in Hawai`i...  And even if you don't, and would like to
contribute yourself, please do;  every cent helps!  The address for
tax-deductible donations is:
     
Gay and Lesbian Community Center,
1820 University Avenue #8,
Honolulu, HI  96822
     
Contributions should be made payable to GLCC/HERMP.  The most
important cost is the legal expenses, but money is also needed for
public outreach and education for the legislative session coming up.
     
Much mahalo,
     
--John