Subject: HAWAII, OCT. 31
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 96 16:03:54 HST

THE QUIET SUBMISSION OF PAPERWORK:
	       FRIEND OF THE COURT BRIEFS AND FINAL
		  RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FINDINGS

	It's now up to Judge Chang:  all the amici filed their briefs
by October 11.  h.e.r.m.p's lawyer Dan Foley filed the final papers for
the plaintiffs on October 25 (approximately 50 pages of suggested 
findings).  We expect Judge Chang to rule by mid-November to mid-December,
completing a major stage in the struggle for civil rights for same-gender
couples.  Expect the loser to appeal this Circuit Court decision to Hawaii's
Supreme Court for a final decision.

	Out of the many amici briefs, I've made one available by email.
Just email [email-masked] to ask for an email version of the
brief from Hawaii's Future Today (HFT).  HFT was organized by leaders
of the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches to oppose same-gender marriage;
it includes the R.C. bishop's lobbyist, Father Mark Alexander, and Mormon
leaders and lobbyists Jack Hoag and Debbie Hartman.

	The HFT brief is good raw material on which to practice
textual analysis and criticism.  It's hard to know where to begin and
at what level, because there are so many emotional cross-currents.
Some of the legal precedents which they cite go back to the 19th century
struggle to outlaw polygamy among Mormons.  From that perspective, this
brief is the Mormons' revenge on the rest of society for forcing them to
give up polygamy.  It left me wondering whether polygamy is an active,
subterranean force in the psyche's of powerful men today, men who lead
strongly patriarchal institutions of such as the Roman Catholic Church
and the Mormon Church.  It is a well-established truth that, as people
exercise greater leadership, their sexual drives and appetites increase
(accompanied by an increased presence of testerone in their blood).  Can
something so animal animate the hostility expressed by these spiritual
leaders?  The advocates of same-gender marriage have no interest in
polygamy, but the opponents keep bringing it up, over and over and over
again.  Odd.

	HFT casually dismisses all the evidence at the trial:  "To
be sure, the Court may well be aided in its constitutional analysis by
the evidence presented by the parties at trial or by the opinions and
studies of various experts.  However, as in many other constitutional
law cases of great importance, expert testimony and empirical studies
need not be the determining factors."

	The key paragraph in the HFT brief may well be the most petulant:
"The invariable response from those who favor homosexual marriage is
that they are not seeking to destroy marriage or alter its place in
society, but rather to expand its definition so that more persons may
participate."  The brief then merely asserts that this expansion of
rights would fundamentally alter traditional marriage.  Uh?  How?
Will, after same-gender marriage is passed, heterosexual people stop getting
married and/or having children?  On the contrary, traditional marriage
be strengthened, by having gays and lesbians marry each other rather
than faking marriage with heterosexuals.

	Ultimately, the HFT brief is a sad document to read.  Blindness
and prejudice, on every page; refusal to consider facts of any sort;
invoking tradition, dishonestly.

						Tom Ramsey

P.S.  The post-trial work and final papers (over 50 pages of argument)
have been the sole responsibility of h.e.r.m.p's lawyer, Dan Foley.
Our loyal and hard-working ally, Evan Wolfson of LLDEF, who provided
extraordinary support in his skillful deposition and examination of
mainland witnesses, is back on the mainland organizing the rest of the
country.
	h.e.r.m.p, like so many, must depend on the kindness of strangers.
We currently owe Dan Foley about $40,000 from the September trial work
and previous work, and have not yet received the bill for October!  Our
Hawaii supporters are busy making a difference in perhaps the most 
important election to ever take place in Hawaii.  So, we turn to you
for support.  Donations to h.e.r.m.p are fully tax-deductible and
may be sent to 
	h.e.r.m.p
	P.O. Box 11690
	Honolulu, HI 96828
Thank you for your support!