Again: Hawaii To Consider Civil Unions

Last February we saw some of the ugliest anti-gay demonstrations ever when red-shirted Christianists jammed the Hawaii state house day after day, successfully stalling a proposed civil unions bill in the state Senate. This week the bill will get another consideration.

When Hawaii legislators reconvene on Wednesday, all eyes will be focused not on teacher furloughs that resulted in the nation's shortest school year or the state's $1 billion budget deficit, but legislation that would allow same-sex couples to form civil unions. The measure would grant gay couples the rights and benefits the state provides to married couples and is among a handful of similar proposals that could pop up in several other states. At the same time, a federal judge in San Francisco is considering the constitutionality of California's same-sex marriage ban. "This bill has already been voted on, so there isn't as much convincing to do anymore," said Alan Spector of Equality Hawaii, a leading supporter of the bill. "I think (legislators) get the substance of the bill and the need for the bill."

The Hawaii Christian Coalition and the local Catholic diocese is already on full alert and are scrambling their screaming hordes to again descend on the state's lawmakers today. (See the above flier.) Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva has sent a letter (PDF) to his 220,000 parishioners saying that anti-gay discrimination is "justifiable." So here we go again. For some reason, this time the bigots are saying "please wear white, not red" for today's hate rally.

Here's a portion of Bishop Larry Silva's hate message in which he boldly admits that anti-gay laws are discriminatory. But that's God's way, so it's cool.