Christian Right has no leis for gays in Hawaii
Yes, Virginia there is a functioning Christian Coalition in Hawaii Next year, the Hawaii state legislature is expected to once again consider legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples to form Civil Unions. The last time the legislature considered such a measure was in 1998, when it failed. According to an October 10, Associated Press report, "the measure, which is [now] on hold in the state Senate, generated some of the largest rallies [by conservatives] ever seen in the normally placid Capitol earlier this year." "Conservatives (almost) never win here," said Garret Hashimoto, chairman of the Hawaii Christian Coalition. (Yes Virginia, there is still a functioning Christian Coalition in some parts of the country.) However, he added, "we won big in 1998, and this issue is coming up again in 2010. So hopefully, 1998 will again surface in 2010." "We don't want to tell people who to vote for," said Bishop Larry Silva of the Catholic Diocese of Hawaii. "But we do want to talk about moral principles and lead them through that discussion of moral principles to decide who best then can express those principles for us as a leader." According to the AP, "Catholic and evangelical Protestant leaders hope to push Hawaii politics rightward, preparing an election-year effort in 2010 to organize their parishioners into voting blocks that can help elect like-minded candidates. And they are hoping to use the issue of civil unions to get them there." Hashimoto's Christian Coalition and a number of other Christian conservative organizations do not intend to leave hope to chance. The 'I VOTE' voter registration drive After years of relative silence, the religious right has launched a campaign they're calling the "I VOTE" voter registration drive; a campaign aimed at convincing 80 percent of Christian churchgoers to register to vote and then once registered, to convince 80 percent of them to vote their "Christian values" on abortion, gay rights, euthanasia and other issues. Earlier this year for example, according to my trusted correspondent, legislation to require hospitals to provide information about Emergency Contraception to rape victims and to provide Emergency Contraception when requested failed (HB423 and SB604). "If successful," the AP pointed out, "the bloc will be instrumental in a state where 456,000 voted last November, said Frances Oda, chairman of Hawaii Family Forum, a nonprofit research group with ties to the Hawaii Catholic Conference." In addition, "The Voice of Truth ministry at Honolulu's First Assembly of God church was organized last year and hopes to prod parishioners next year into registering to vote and provide them with information on candidate positions, much of it from Oda's group." In mid-October, Andrew Walden reported in the Hawaii Free Press ("The untold story, the unspoken opinion, the other side"), that the Honolulu Star-Bulletin had editorialized against the registration drive. Given that Hawaii has a dismal record regarding voter turnout, Walden was convinced that the editorial was motivated by the newspaper's animus toward the Republican Party and evangelical voters. 'Transformation Hawaii' conference draws hundreds In a late-October piece, Walden reported on the "Transformation Hawaii" conference held in early November, which would, amongst other things appraise conferees about the "I VOTE" campaign. This conference followed an International Institute on Nation Transformation held a few days earlier. Walden reported that organizers define "Transformation" as: "PRISONS transformed, GHETTOS revitalized, CORRUPTION removed, SCHOOLS renewed, GOD-HONORING governments, KINGDOM businesses, and SYSTEMIC HUNGER stamped out" (http://www.transformationhawaii.org-a.googlepages.com/). Group 70 CEO and New Life Church Honolulu Pastor Frances Oda pointed out that "This is not so much a conference as a radical transformation experience." If the "I VOTE" campaign is successful, it could play a significant role in the upcoming gubernatorial race, in which Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, the leading contender for the Republican nomination, while U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie intends to run for the Democratic nomination. Aiona, according to the AP, "has made no secret of his strong religious convictions nor his conservative views on social issues, including opposition to civil unions, gay marriage and abortion. He has attended religious rallies and in 2004 told a prayer gathering that `Hawaii belongs to Jesus.' He also has insisted his faith will not interfere with his duties." In mid-November, Aiona attended a rock concert sponsored by a group called "Stand for Life Hawaii (http://www.standforlifehawaii.org/default.html)." My Hawaii source reported that a couple of the music groups, "The Kry" and "Driven Cure" flew in from California for the event. Abercrombie supports abortion rights, civil unions and gay marriage. As of this writing, it is unclear whether the "I VOTE" campaign is related in any way to iVoteValues.org (http://ivotevalues.org/), a website aimed at encouraging conservative Christians to: Register to Vote; * Register Your Friends; Vote Your Values; and Pray. On the iVoteValues website, the organization notes that it is a "collaborative effort of Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, and was originally developed by For Faith & Family, a ministry of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention."
Christian Right has no leis for gays in Hawaii | 1 comment (1 topical, 0 hidden)
Christian Right has no leis for gays in Hawaii | 1 comment (1 topical, 0 hidden)
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