By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald
First, a lot of mahalos are in order, said Dennis Arakaki, executive director of Hawaii Family Forum and the Hawaii Catholic Conference, shortly after the state House of Representatives on Jan. 29 tabled HB444, the bill that would legalize civil unions for same-sex couples in Hawaii.
“First to God,” he said, “then to the faithful who rose up and were willing to speak up.”
Also deserving a great deal of thanks is House Speaker Calvin Say who “courageously stepped down from the podium to make the motion to table the measure,” Arakaki said, and the representatives who then voted for that motion.
“It was a unanimous voice vote,” Arakaki said.
Rep. Say made the motion “knowing full well he would get the brunt of the criticism” from civil union advocates, Arakaki said.
The vote marked the likely end for this legislative session of an issue that has stirred up much community anger and passion. It takes a two-thirds vote to bring the bill back into action.
HB444 would have allowed homosexual couples to gain a status identical to marriage in the state of Hawaii, under the designation “civil union.”
One of the arguments against the bill was that, except for the name, it made civil unions identical to marriage, and would therefore force the inevitable legalization of same-sex marriage.
Proponents of civil unions have said that their ultimate goal is same-sex marriage.
When introduced last year, the bill provoked strong opposition from Hawaii Family Forum and the Hawaii Catholic Conference, which act in tandem during legislative sessions as advocates for many social justice and family values issues.
Hawaii Family Forum represents many evangelical Protestant churches in Hawaii. The Hawaii Catholic Conference is the public policy arm of the Diocese of Honolulu.
Last year, HB444 easily passed in the state house, but the senate amended it, delaying the senate’s vote until this year. Last week, the senate approved the measure with a two-thirds majority and sent it back to the house.
The reemergence of the bill prompted a large rally at the capitol on Jan. 17 organized by Hawaii Family Forum and the Hawaii Catholic Conference, plus a huge letter, phone and e-mail campaign against the bill in evangelical and Catholic churches aimed at state lawmakers.
Bishop Larry Silva also wrote a letter to island Catholics, explaining the church’s position and urging them to make their voices known to legislators.
“The phone calls, visits, cards, all had an effect,” said Arakaki.
Voting in favor of civil unions during an election year was politically risky, considering the possibility of a veto by Gov. Linda Lingle, who has not expressed her position on the issue. Also, a recent poll showed that more than 60 percent of Hawaii voters favor traditional marriage.
But Arakaki said the house vote represented more than a reluctance to support a contentious measure during an election year.
Some house members changed their minds on the issue not because of political expediency, he said, but because of the strength of the opposition position.
The argument against civil unions really changed minds and hearts, he said. “It enlightened a lot of them.”
But the issue will return at some point, Arakaki, admitted. “We just have to be vigilant.”
After the vote, civil unions supporters were telling him, “We’ll be back. We are not going away,” he said.
With civil unions put aside for the time being, Arakaki said Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference will return their focus to their iVote campaign with its goal of building a new block of Christian-based voters in Hawaii.
“There are so many other issues not getting attention,” he said.