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Hawaii governor calling special session of legislature on Oct. 28 to pass "gay marriage."

Churches mobilizing to stop it. MassResistance working with pro-family activists.

POSTED: September 17, 20113

It's been fifteen years since Hawaii overwhelmingly voted against "gay marriage." Last Monday, Sept. 9, the Governor decided to go for broke to try to make it a reality in in that state. He has called a special session of the Legislature to convene on Oct. 28, for the sole purpose of taking up his new "gay marriage" bill.

A "gay marriage" bill had already been introduced in this year's session. But by the time the session ended on May 2, it had failed to gain sufficient support and was never brought to a vote. Much of that was due to heavy pressure against it by churches.

So the homosexual lobby, working closely with the Governor, went into high gear, and by early August they had crafted a new bill which the pro-homosexual governor publicly unveiled for "examination" by the legislators. The new bill strengthens the "religious exemptions" which had been an issue with legislators. The Governor began lobbying them heavily on the new bill, and now claims that he has the votes to pass it, and thus has called the special session.

Nevertheless, the religious community is not placated. They correctly see "religious exemptions" as a phony ploy by the left to bring wobbly politicians on board. In late August the Catholic Bishop sent out a letter against it, and approximately 100 Protestant churches have also signed a letter opposing a special session. And even the Republican Party, although vastly outnumbered in the Legislature, is working against it. The Governor has charged ahead anyway.

In an exchange with one Republican state legislator, the Governor actually admitted that he foresaw "gay marriage" possibly leading to polygamous unions. Apparently he has no problem with that:

Why a special session, when the new session begins in January, just weeks later? The Governor's "official" reasoning for calling a special session is so that homosexual couples can get the "tax advantages" of marrying this year. Were it to pass in that session, the law would go into effect on Nov. 18. But the real reason, which the governor also alludes to, is that strategically, he wanted no other legislative distractions while the homosexual lobby pressured the politicians.

Strong reaction by churches against new bill and special session

Since the Governor had signaled his intentions several weeks ago, pro-family groups and churches have reacted swiftly. The First Assembly of God churches have made it a prominent part of their website and have published detailed guide to listing each legislator's known position on the issue. Their message is: "Do not be silent on this issue."

MassResistance contacted by Hawaii activist group

Even before the Governor's formal announcement on Sept. 10, MassResistance began was contacted by an activist group in Hawaii, for advice on strategy and also to use our materials.

Over the last several days MassResistance has been working with the Hawaii Republican Assembly (HIRA). HIRA has indicated that they intend to distribute thousands of copies of our booklet "What same-sex 'marriage' did to Massachusetts" in churches and elsewhere. They are also considering passing out our stickers even T-shirts to help Hawaiians make the point to their politicians that homosexual "marriage" can never be "equal".

In addition, we've been told, links to various MassResistance reports on "gay marriage" issues are being emailed across the state. (For example, the Illinois victory and the homosexual campaign in the media.

MassResistance's past activism in Hawaii

MassResistance began working with Hawaii activists on the homosexual issue back in the mid-1990's (when we were known as Parents' Rights Coalition). But in 2009 we really jumped in to help stop the "civil unions" bill. It had passed the House and was then in a Senate committee.

As we reported at the time, our original version of "What same-sex 'marriage' has done to MassResistance" was a played a pivotal role. At the public hearing (which lasted 18 hours!) many of the attendees had copies of it with them, and much of the testimony came from it. All of the committee members had been given copies, and one of the Senators used information from it in his discussions with other members at the hearing. At 3:30 a.m. when the hearing ended, the committee immediately took a vote. It was a 3-3 tie -- and thus the bill got killed in committee!

MassResistance's influence in that victory caused the national homosexual lobby to boil over in anger. In Boston, the homosexual newspaper Bay Windows published an angry, scathing article, "MassResistance goes Hawaiian," attacking us.

Hawaii's "gay marriage" fight goes back decades

Hawaii has been a battleground of the "gay marriage" fight for over twenty years. The homosexual lobby has won some battles but so far they have been stopped cold from re-defining marriage in Hawaii.

Here are some of the milestones in that fight, leading up to today.

1990 - Three same-sex couples begin suing in court after being denied marriage licenses.

1996 - Hawaii court system rules that state must issue same-sex marriage licenses because of "equal protection" clause in state constitution. But ruling is stayed pending appeal.

1997 - Legislature passes "reciprocal benefit" legislation allowing same-sex couples various rights such as shared health insurance, pension, and inheritance, etc., to placate homosexual movement while marriage ruling is being appealed. [Note that this did not satisfy the radicals.]

1998 - Citizens vote on and pass Constitutional Amendment on marriage by approximately 70%-30%. Amendment gives legislature the power to define marriage as one man and one woman, and effectively negates court's ruling on lawsuit.

2009 - Homosexual civil unions bill is introduced and passes House. But is stopped in Senate committee. MassResistance plays a big role (see above).

2010 - Homosexual civil unions bill is re-introduced and passes House and Senate, but is vetoed by Republican Governor.

2011 - New homosexual civil unions bill is introduced, passes House and Senate, is signed into law by current pro-homosexual Governor Abercrombie in February 2012.

2013 - "Gay marriage" bill is introduced but fails to get passed by end of session. Governor crafts new bill and calls special session for October 28.

Our warning back in 2009 that civil unions, if passed, would simply become a stepping stone toward pushing for "gay marriage" turned out to be correct.

Homosexual lobby in high gear for huge battle

The homosexual lobby sees this as another "must win" battle in their long march through America's culture. They have wasted no time in their propaganda campaign to soften up the populace, and of course to raise money.

* Study claims "gay marriage" will bring millions of dollars into state. In late July, the University of Hawaii Dept. of Economics conveniently released a major study claiming that legalizing "gay marriage" will bring in $217 million into the state over two years, from "gay" weddings and increased "gay" tourism.

Similar "studies" seem always to show up in states just before marriage votes. For example, a "study" released just before the vote in the New York legislature in May 2011 claimed that legalizing "gay marriage" would bring in $283 million into the state over three years. Has that actually happened? Not surprisingly, there've been no "studies" to confirm it.

* "Gay marriage is inevitable." As we've seen in other states, that's the subliminal message behind much of the high-pressure lobbying at the State House. When you hear politicians talk about "being on the right side of history" and comparing "marriage equality" to the Civil Rights movement, you can tell who's been drinking the psychological Kool-Aid.

* The usual cast of characters is already on the ground pushing this. According to press reports, this includes the Hawaii Democratic Party, American Civil Liberties Union, and the homosexual groups Equity Hawaii Foundation and Human Rights Campaign.

* Looking to Hollywood for big funding (in addition to their usual sources) according to press reports. To jumpstart that, on Sept. 21 they've scheduled a Marriage Equity Gala in Honolulu on September 21, featuring "Glee" television star Mathew Morrison as the main celebrity attraction.

* And of course, the barrage of pro-gay marriage media coverage. For example, this past Sunday the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii's largest newspaper, published an absurd op-ed by the head of the Hawaii ACLU titled "Marriage bill is fair, and clergy rights are preserved." (Suddenly, the ACLU is defending the rights of Christian clergy?)

It's just getting started. The citizens of Hawaii will likely be inundated with much more as the "special session" gets closer.

What will happen when the Legislature convenes?

Although it's a special session for only one bill, it will be treated like other bills. According to the Governor's press release, during a special session, all constitutional and legal requirements that govern the Legislature must still be met. The House and Senate internal rules are also the same, both of which require a public hearing before any bill is passed. Thus there will be two public hearings, two committee votes, and two floor votes in order for the bill to get through.

And look for an enormous influx people to the State House for the public hearings, rallies, lobbying, committee votes, etc. If it's anything like the special "gay marriage" Constitutional Convention was in Massachusetts back in 2007, it will be a zoo, to say the least.

But besides that, as we've all seen across America, the Left realizes that even in "blue" states it needs to take extraordinary and often fairly sleazy measures to pass something as outrageous as "gay marriage" in a state legislature. That's what this "special session" is all about. So anything can be expected.

Why this CAN be won in Hawaii

On one hand, Hawaii is a "deep blue" state, with huge Democrat majorities in both houses of the Legislature, and all the major public officials are Democrats.

But on the other hand, the Hawaiians themselves are much different than the people of, say, Massachusetts. They tend to be much more socially conservative, and are not afraid to say so. Thus, "gay marriage" is not particularly popular. Lots of people belong to churches, especially Evangelical, Catholic, and Mormon churches. And the clergy is not afraid to get involved.

In addition, the homosexual movement does not have the foothold in Hawaii that it does in other states. And the media, while overwhelmingly left-wing, does not seem completely in the tank with them.

Hawaiians as individuals are generally much less politically active or confrontational than people on the mainland. But in the past, the "gay marriage" issue has inflamed large numbers of them. And people are far less intimidated by the homosexual movement's money and aggressive tactics than people here. That's probably why the solidly-Democratic House balked this year at passing the that bill earlier this year.

For those reasons, we believe that if the pro-family groups and the churches can mobilize people, this "special session" bill can be stopped.