Date: Tue, 08 Apr 1997 08:07:57 -1000 queerpolitics@abacus.oxy.edu, queerplanet@abacus.oxy.edu, Subject: Hawai`i Action Alert, Information & Update #4 Aloha kakahiaka kakou. Major problems with Hawai`i Online this morning and last night. The following was supposed to be broadcast last night, but has been reconstructed this morning. Update #4 is small, but after today, with only three more days left of "Hell Week" (by most accounts) POLITICALLY CORRECT TUESDAY: Joint Conference Committee hearing, corrected by TRACEY BENNETT (with apologies) Buddha Day Fundraiser for Senator Wayne Metcalf RON BUCKMIRE: Letter to the Senators MEDIA CAMPAIGN UPDATE STAND-INS: Point, counterpoint JC DUFFY KATHY WORTHINGTON FOX AFFILIATE: Misinformation and sensationalism? <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> CORRECTION FROM TRACEY BENNETT: >The earlier posted time was incorrect. It's 9:30. Sorry! > >> >>Aloha kakahiaka kakou. >> >>FORWARD CAUTIOUSLY TO HAWAI`I RESIDENTS ONLY. MAHALO! >> >>The next Joint Conference Committee hearing is set for Tuesday morning, >>4/8/97 at 9:30am, room 325 at the State Capitol. If possible, attendance is >>urged. >> >>A hui hou, >> >>Martin <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> NOTE FROM MARTIN RICE: Today is Buddha Day. Of course, no banks will be closed, the state government will continue to operate and be accessible to the public, mail will be delivered and all major stores will remain open. I can't help but wonder what members of Hawai`i's second largest denomination must think and feel. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> PAID POLITICAL AD FROM THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER: A Fundraiser for Senator Wayne Metcalf, 2ns Senatorial District, Hawai`i Tuesday, April 8, 1997 5:30-7:30pm Bishop Museum Atherton Halau Entertainment, Heavy Pupus & Refreshments Donation, $25.00 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> LETTER FROM RON BUCKMIRE: Dear Senators: I am writing to show support for the incredibly principled stand that you have taken in support of ending discrimination against same-sex couples in Hawaii. You all have rightly recognized that regardless of what the Majority thinks about a particular issue, that does not necessarily make their position the one that must prevail. It is very clear that current law unfairly discriminates on the basis of the sex of the members of a loving couple. In other words if Chris and Pat get married there are 200+ rights, responsibilities and privileges accorded to their ability to get a marriage licence from the state. However if it is discovered that Chris and Pat are two WOMEN (Christine and Patricia) or two men (Christopher and Patrick) then their marriage licence is either voided or never issued at all. This is discrimination, plain and simple. The clear-thinking State Justices recognized this in 1993 and Judge Kevin Chang in December 1996 realized that the State did not have a compelling reason to justify such abhorrent, blatant injustice. I understand that there is a lot of pressure on you to amend your state constitution to EXPLICITLY discriminate against same-sex couples. You know that to do so will diminish the civil rights of ALL Hawaiians. Please do not accept any constitutional amendment which does not preserve equal treatment for all Hawaii citizens under the law. Remember, that LESS than 30 years ago it was illegal in 16 states for people of different races to marry. There was LESS public support for interracial marriage then there is for same-sex marriage NOW. The principled Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court realized that civil rights are not determined by majority vote and ended marriage discrimination based on race in 1967. In 1997 you should stand fast to the principle that marriage discrimination based on sex must end. Sincerely, RON BUCKMIRE, Los Angeles <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> OBSERVATIONS ON THE MEDIA CAMPAIGN: Several different groups have started a pro-marriage campaign in Hawai`i's print, radio and television: The Coalition for Equality and Diversity and the Clergy Coalition have taken out print ad in both Honolulu papers. The ad was paid for by The ACLU of Hawai`i Foundation, P.O. Box 3410, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96801 (hint, hint) and will run this week. The ad was broadcast yesterday via the net. Also, TV ads are running supporting the marriage issue and are broadcast to all four counties on six major island on the four major affiliates: FOX, ABC, NBC & CBS. It was eyepopping to see an ad promoting tolerance towards lesbians and gays in the middle of "The Wheel of Furtune," to say the least. These ads are connected with the Marriage Project-Hawai`i (formerly h.e.r.m.p.) and include film footage of the hatefest of January 24th at the State Capitol orchestrated by Hawai'i's Future Today, the Alliance for Traditional Marriage, ad naseum. Radio spots are also running on several different stations. I know that O`ahu and Kaua`i are blanketed, but can not at this time confirm Maui or Hawai`i counties. Again, the Marriage Project-Hawai`i is behind these spots. The CBS affiliate during their 10pm newsbroadcast last night made mention of print ads to be run this morning by Senators Chumbley, Metcalf, Matsunaga & McCartney explaining their position on the marriage issue. The edition of the Advertiser that I received this morning had no such ad. So far, with an exception of late last week, the opposition has been TOO quiet. Speculation is that they're still reeling from the Supreme Court's decision regarding the overturn of the Constitutional Convention vote. The ConCon was seen as the last stop-gap measure employable by the opposition to prevent same-gender marriage by rewriting the Constutition to explicitily deny it in the advent that legislative action this session in Honolulu was inconclusive or contrary to their positions. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> POINT, COUNTERPOINT: JC DUFFY & KATHY WORTHINGTON Ten days 'til the Family Rights Weekend. SEE YOU IN HONOLULU! Kathy On April 7, 1997 JC Duffy wrote to KATHYWUT@aol.com: (he starts out referring to Martin's idea for a stand-in at a Catholic church) >>No, no, no, no, no. Kathy, a "stand-in" at a Catholic mass is a BAD idea. A VERY BAD idea. Most people who watch footage of protesters being dragged out of a mass are going to feel like it's inappropriate for you to be invading someone else's sacred space. That's not the sort of PR we want. Might I suggest holding your stand-in just OUTSIDE the church? Might I also suggest that the stand-in be non-confrontational? For instance, you could have a prayer service or just a silent vigil (maybe with candles) for justice or for an end to conflict--values that the opposition can't criticize or take offense it. Sort of like what was done outside the LDS chapels where the September Six were being excommunicated. On someone's sacred ground, that seems more appropriate. Come to think of it, maybe the ideal response is something like what was done after the September Six by those people who presented a bunch of white roses to the Presiding Bishop at the Church Office Building. They'd been very careful to insist that this was not a protest but a gesture symbolizing their desire to help heal conflict in the Church (that was how they got the Presiding Bishop to meet with them at all). Something like that--some gesture, not a protest, symbolizing your desire to help close the rifts opened up by the same-sex marriage issue--could be extraordinarily powerful PR. I'm not sure what your posts are referring to when they talk about "that Mormon Disneyland." If they mean the Hawaii Temple--don't go there. You will have the Mormons so angry, you will lose whatever ground we've gained up to this point. Those people will be so whipped up by an invasion of their ultimate sacred (and private) space, their opposition to us (and thus their efforts to get others to oppose us) will double or triple. Don't think that by invading their private space you're somehow making a point about their invasion of our private space: they won't see that. All they'll see is that you're mocking their God. And God knows we don't need to reinforce THAT stereotype. A stand-in at BYU Hawaii campus might be more appropriate, but what are you hoping to gain? No one there's going to listen to you. You might create some media footage of angry LDS students picking on innocent protesters, etc., etc. But couldn't your energy be better spent in some other way? Kathy, I think it's a wonderful idea for your group to be in Hawaii. I'm sending letters to the senators you posted on your list. And my partner and I are working up some sort of--what's the word, presentaton?--for you to take over, like you'd suggested. But PLEASE don't let your group's understandable anger about what's going on (and particularly about the Catholic and Mormon Churches' involvement) lead you to do something that may feel personally validating, but which in the long run will prove politically counterproductive. >> JC Duffy MY REPLY: J.C., I'm glad you wrote to share your ideas with me about the actions people are suggesting for Hawaii. I will send a copy of your post to a few of the people who are discussing possible responses to the efforts of Mormons and Catholics in Hawaii. That said, I thought I would share MY thoughts with YOU, In High School I was a Mormon leader. There were always people ready to criticize who we had for a speaker, how we decorated the hall, what the refreshments were, what day or where we had an event. Then I was in the anti-Vietnam War movement. There were business-suited people who opposed the war and thought we ought to work slowly and peaceably with the establishment and there were people who wanted to burn down buildings and destroy things. There were lots of people, especially in Utah, who supported the war and thought we anti-war types were fanatics, radicals and anti-American. I was one of those who really opposed the war and marched and protested. I marched in Salt Lake, L.A., San Francisco and Washington D.C. In every era - in every struggle since the beginning of time - in every fight for equal rights - there have been differences of opinion between people about what the "correct" or "right" way is to achieve something. In the "American Revolution" only 1/3 of the people in the colonies were in favor of independence from England. 1/3 were indifferent and 1/3 were loyal to England. Can you imagine how many different opinions there were about the Boston Tea Party? When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, there were lots of people, both black and white, who disapproved of what she did. I wonder if you'd approve of a gay person taking that kind of "disruptive" stand? I mean, couldn't she just go to the government with white roses or something and just politely ask them to change the segregationist policy? She could have taken some friends with her . . . She should have been "sweet and nice", taking candy and cookies to the bus company, to the government, to the white folks who created the policy in the first place, hoping she'd 'sweetly' change their minds . . . Like I said, people in all movements disagree on tactics and methods. One person's own opinion of tactics changes as that person comes out more and more and is less and less afraid and more and more courageous. As we become more certain that the injustice is completely wrong and that we are ABSOLUTELY deserving of just as much respect and dignity - and just as many human, civil rights - as any one else, we become less willing to patiently and slowly try to convince the racists and bigots to come around. Some prefer: "Please, sirs, won't you consider allowing us to have the right to live without fear, shame, violence, isolation, depression? I don't want to upset you or your world and I certainly don't want to make you angry, but will you please consider the idea of treating me and mine as first-class human beings?" Others say: "It's high time I had my rights, my freedom, the right to live without fear or shame, and I'm not going beg you to treat me as I've deserved to be treated all along. YOU are the one who should be ashamed and fearful. You should be ashamed of your ignorance and misinformation and of the hatred and bigotry that you perpetuate. If you are determined to keep things the way they are, I am not here to make you comfortable while you gradually get used to the idea of giving me and mine the right to live our lives with peace, security, dignity and love. I am standing up now and saying, I want my freedom. I want my rights." Maybe YOU believe in gently and slowly changing things so that THEY do not get angry or upset. It may be that change frightens and upsets you. Maybe making THEM angry is frightening to you . . . It could be that you still want their approval and love . . . or maybe you're just not ready for all that many changes to the world you're familiar with. That's OK . But if you expect everyone to agree with you on that, you're going to be disappointed. Everyone doesn't agree. Not now and they never will. If you want to meet with church leaders and take them roses and try to quietly and peacefully change their minds, that's OK. If you want to got to the offices of legislators and take them candy, flowers and cookies, that's OK, too. If you want to meet with them time after time and try to educate them at a pace that is comfortable to you and them, that's OK. It's even good. But those are not the ONLY methods and not everyone is going to think they're the BEST methods. My personal opinion is that it's good to have a zillion different people working in a zillion different ways for change. That way the efforts are like raindrops coming together to become a rainstorm, then a stream and then a mighty river. They may catch a few of the raindrops, but they won't stop the mighty river. Kathy Worthingon, Salt Lake City <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> MISINFORMATION FROM HONOLULU'S FOX AFFILIATE? On last night's newsbroadcast at 6 & 10pm, popular commentator Joe Moore stated that the Senate had reached a compromise position that would be presented at this morning's Joint Conference Committee hearing. Moore's report indicated that a shift in the Senate's position of considerable signifance was about to "break the deadlock over same-sex marriage." However, several well-placed Honolulu savants knew of no such "major shift." One described the report as "digging." It should be noted that the NBC and ABC affiliates did not mention today's hearing and that the CBS affiliate aired a report that has yet to be proven true. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ~~pau~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Is there any truth to the rumor that a gay man is in the body of Martha Stewart?" --Unknown ~~~~~ Fred and Martin 24 years, yet strangers before the law ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~