WHY SAY YOU WILL WHEN YOU WON’T?

WHY SAY YOU WILL WHEN YOU WON’T?: What a difference a year makes.

As the ’09 legislative session approached, the bigot community was whipping up a frenzy among assorted churchies, causing legislators to quake in their flip flops at the prospect of being voted out of office if they dared slap same-gendered couples in the face by granting them all the same rights as marriage but reminding them they were still to be dehumanized with denial of marriage itself.

But guess what. Not only did all but one legislator (and he had other problems) who voted for the HB 444 civil unions bill get reelected but a slew of those who either voted against or opposed the bill were tossed aside on their biblically-bridled butts.

This year a new civil unions bill will be introduced and, most likely, dispatched and signed into law post haste. But despite the fact that since 2004, five states- Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts- and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage, we still continue to enshrine intolerance and parochialism in our laws.

Ever since the constitutional amendment passed in the narrow-minded frenzy of fear in 1998 the legislature been allowed to perpetuate the denial of human rights to same gender couples.

Now, the real shame of Hawai`i resides in Chapter 572 of Hawai`i Revised Statute which begins with the words:

§572-1 Requisites of valid marriage contract. In order to make valid the marriage contract, which shall be only between a man and a woman, it shall be necessary that: (emphasis added)

Ten words. That’s all that stands between real civil rights and the pseudo civility of civil unions.

The question is whether there is one legislator who has the fortitude and the temerity to introduce a bill striking those 10 words from HRS.

A year ago it was hard to find legislators who weren’t fearful of being tossed out if they voted for civil unions. But in the wake of last week’s vote only creed-clouded cretins can be as delusional as to think that things haven’t changed 180 degrees since 1998.

The only question now is whether the 76 normally gutless wonders will take real action to establish the “civil rights” they claim to support.

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We’re taking tomorrow off. Be back Friday.