August 13–20, 1998

hit and run

Hawaii Five Hundred Thousand

Hawaii's Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of the year that civil marriage is legal for same-sex couples under the state constitution, upholding an early decision by the Hawaii's lower court, says the national Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

But Philadelphia's gay and lesbian couples who want to marry should not start planing a honeymoon just yet. That's because Hawaii's state legislature last year placed a referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot that, if supported by voters, will amend the state's constitution, allowing the legislature to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Hawaii's Christian Coalition is supporting the referendum and is leading an effort to raise $600,000 to convince voters to support the referendum.

The Washington, DC-based HRC, the nation's largest gay and lesbian political organization, and other gay rights organizations, are trying to raise $500,000 this month to add to its counter-campaign, says David Smith, a spokesman for the HRC.

Gerard F. Cattie, Jr., one of four HRC board of governors from Philadelphia, has pledged to raise $15,000 from this area to contribute to the campaign.

"Even if the Hawaii Supreme Court rules in our favor, the freedom to marry could be snatched away by the political process if we don't win at the ballot box in Hawaii in November," says Cattie. "The Christian Coalition and others are so well funded there will be an onslaught of ads and media blitz in the next 30 days. We need to have adequate funding so we can retaliate."

If the Hawaii Supreme Court does in fact uphold the state court's earlier ruling—and the referendum fails—Pennsylvania's proponents of gay and lesbian marriages will have a much better chance of challenging the state's anti-gay marriage bill, which prohibits same-sex marriages.

Pennsylvania is one of 28 states that passed anti-gay marriage bills after Hawaii's historic court case, Baehr v. Miike, which gave same-sex couples the right to marry. Activists hope to use Hawaii's Supreme Court ruling to challenge the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's anti-gay bill.

Because voters are still reluctant to support gay-marriage initiatives, the HRC has positioned its campaign as one about preserving the constitution and equal rights. The campaign opposing the referendum, for instance, is officially known as the Protect Our Constitution.

"For me personally, it is a gay-rights issue," says Cattie, who is gay and has been with his partner for 10 years. "But it is also a constitutional issue. It is our right to marry. We should have same right as heterosexual couples."

Hawaii's Christian Coalition is trying to tap into homophobia for its support by proffering ridiculous stereotypes about homosexuals in its campaign literature, and by suggesting that Hawaii will be overrun by gay and lesbian couples if the referendum is defeated.

Here is a sample of its rhetoric posted on Hawaii's Christian Coalition Web site: "Gay couples will flock [to Hawaii] to marry and honeymoon… the institution of marriage, as we know it, created by God, will come to an end throughout the world in six months to one year!… You must believe that gays will recruit children to their lifestyle, through already published cartoon-style books.… Some, but not all, homosexuals are pedophiles, preying on children and wanting the age of consent laws for sex removed."

The HRC has filed complaints with Hawaii's Campaign Spending Commission against the Christian Coalition and its local affiliate in Hawaii for failing to file required campaign finance reports with the commission.

"The most important thing right now is getting dollars through the door," says Cattie.

-Mark Naymik