Mormon Homophobes Go Hawaiian?

Not content to miss yet another opportunity to inject lies, fear, and of course deep Mormon funding into local civil rights legislation, the Mormon Church may be at it again in the State of Hawaii in an effort to derail House Bill 444. HB44 extends the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners (same sex or otherwise) in a civil union. During a Hawaii State Legislature meeting on February 6, the committee unanimously voted "yes" to send the bill to the House floor and to pass it, with amendments. Not a single "nay" vote.

Taking a lesson from their successful framing of California Prop. 8 as protecting children, Latter Day Saints are perhaps now advancing their particular brand of Aloha with a Protect Our Keiki campaign. Keiki is the Hawaiian word for children.

On their self-named website--under a banner of images of folks celebrating (in costume) at various gay Pride celebrations or other images of same sex couples kissing or exchanging vows--you'll find the presumably rhetorical question, Is this really what you want your keiki to believe is "normal" and "natural"?? Because as everyone knows, beneath our day-to-day work clothes, we homosexuals are all wearing sequined spandex tights, leather thongs, or other fabulous togs. After all, why should Mormons have an exclusive claim on magic underwear.

The ad goes on to claim that Hawaii State Senator Clarence Nishihara is forcing gay unions on our community and wants to confuse our children. As reported in the Honolulu Advertiser, Sen. Nishihara supports HB 444.

But what about this "our" community and "our" children business? I was curious who "our" are.

Checking the domain registry for protectourkeiki dot com shows that the domain name was created on February 14, 2009 with Blue Host web hosting based in, wait for it.. Orem, Utah. So not only are Utah interests apparently extending to the planet's most remote island chain, but some unique sense of entitlement is allowing carpetbagging haole's to appropriate the local language and local interests to serve their not-so-local ends.

I may be haole as well, but I do know that Aloha is more than a word of greeting or farewell. Hawaii's Aloha spirit is an actual law in Hawaii, encoded in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, section 5-7.5 and acknowledges that Aloha spirit "was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaii." The words kindness, modesty, tenderness, and unity are captured in the Aloha spirit. As such, all citizens and government officials of Hawaii are obligated by law to conduct themselves in accordance with this law, while performing their duties and obligations, as well as in their day-to-day living. Likewise, those visiting Hawaii are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with this Hawaiian law.

Aloha spirit elevates, empowers and ennobles its people, and keeps Hawaii the uniquely special place that it is.

I suggest Utah interests might do well to familiarize themselves with true Aloha spirit or risk their own woes for violating Hawaiian law.