Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 06:23:43 -1000
From: lambda@aloha.net (Martin Rice)
Subject: HONOLULU ADVERTISER, February 25, 1997:  Letter to the Editor

Aloha kakahiaka kakou.


HONOLULU ADVERTISER
P.O. Box 3110
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96802
tiser@aloha.net


February 25, 1997

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:  Same-sex marriage:  Do what's right

I'm tired of hearing about the polls that claim 70 percent of Hawai`i's
residents want a knee-jerk reaction to the issue of recognizing same-sex
marriages.

Legislators such as Joe Souki, backed by anti-gay organizations, keep
quoting this number as the "holy grail" justification for stopping gays and
lesbians from achieving equality.

Do Hawai`i residents know that 70 of Americans felt that Japanese Americans
shouldn't be let out of the American interment camps after World War II?  Do
they know that 70 percent of Americans were opposed to inter-racial marriage
in 1967?

I recently visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and learned
that 75 percent of Americans did not want to "get involved" in order to help
Jewish people from being annihilated in Germany.

History has shown us that prejudice and hate is usually cloaked in the
pretense of religious and political convictions.  These "convictions," along
with the rally cry of "70 percent," have a horrifying historical ring to them.

For bad things to happen, all it takes is for good people to do nothing.
Since civil rights is the foundation of the same-gender marriage court case,
I urge good people to stand up now and talk with their friends and legislators.

Mark Breda [Honolulu]

~~pau~~

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  "The Jews are a nervous people.  Nineteen centuries
  of Christian love have taken a toll."                           
                                  --Benjamin Disraeli
                         ~~~~~
                    Fred and Martin
                       24 years,
                  yet strangers before
                        the law
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~