As Hawaii House and Senate leaders have introduced a historic number of LGBTQ+ friendly measures in the state Legislature this session, community groups hope to see a continued strengthening of the community’s rights and extensions of protection for further safety.
With this, many expressed gratitude that other bills that would harm keiki in Hawaii schools were not given hearings and are not moving forward due to a lack of popular and legislative support.
"As an advocate for LGBTQ folks struggling to survive and thrive in our conservative rural communities, I want to see everyone – families, schools, community groups, even our churches – doing everything they can to help young people be the best possible version of themselves, and to feel safe, confident and proud of who they are in all aspects of their lives," Joe Wilson, coordinator of the North Shore Ko'olau Diversity Collective, said in a release. "The vast majority of people in Hawaii, including legislators, value inclusion and respect and are focused on making things better for LGBTQ people and their families, not worse. And that's what we should be concentrating on."
Among other comments, ACLU of Hawaii Interim Executive Director Scott Greenwood emphasized that the fight for equality remains far from over, stating the ACLU stands in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to ensure basic constitutional rights are protected and treated with “the dignity and aloha we all deserve.”
“The ACLU of Hawaii has a long history of protecting the civil rights and liberties of our LGBTQ+ community members, yet even as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the landmark Hawaii state Supreme Court case that helped lead the fight for marriage equality, we see how basic rights to access life-saving health care and equal educational opportunities are being threatened,” Greenwood said.
Leaders and members of the community held a rally Feb. 14 at the Capitol Rotunda to “affirm their commitment to inclusivity and equality.”
With local pastors standing in support of the legislation, the Rev. Jessica Kawamura of Wahiawa United Methodist Church underscored how heartbreaking it is to see the Bible used as a rationale for hate, stating the extreme views of any religious minority should never drive policy decisions.
"I want our kids, teens and parents to know that we see you, we care about you and you deserve to be safe," Kawamura said.
In Hawaiian culture, māhū represents the space between kāne and wahin, Ka Hui Hoʻokino Hālāwai (KHHH) and its members, Kalikopuanoheaokalani Aiu, Kanoaʻihimaikalani Cleveland, Be Ho-Castle and Hercules Goss-Kuehn said. With this, māhū and other cultural gender identities that "resist the imposed gender binary" are likewise "acknowledged and respected through an Indigenous lens," they said.
“Hateful bills ... only serve to be divisive, hurtful and contrary to our shared spirit of aloha," Osa Tui Jr., president of the state Teachers Association, said. "Our public schools are microcosms of our diverse communities, and we value the differences by all in our schools, including our Keiki. We will always stand up and fight for the protection and safety of those who are targeted by these vile attempts to silence and shame those who make Hawaii a special place."