Issue Position: Civil and Human Rights

Issue Position

In Hawaii, our diversity does not divide us; our diversity defines us.

No matter what your race or ethnicity, native or immigrant background, religion or culture, sexual orientation, disability, age or gender; no matter how much money you have; no matter what kind of job you have; everyone in Hawaii counts.

It is critical that we protect the civil and human rights of all our people. We must fight discrimination in all forms, support equal pay for equal work, end human trafficking, and teach tolerance and aloha.

An issue of current significance is civil unions. I have always made clear that I would have signed House Bill 444 if I were Governor. Despite the claims of critics, HB444 was not a same-sex marriage bill. The State Legislature has already defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Some have suggested the issue be put to a popular vote, but a constitutional democracy does not leave the civil rights of a minority up to the political fashion of the moment.

The people of Hawaii have too much history with discrimination not to understand what is happening here. Protecting people's civil rights cannot be compromised and I am committed to this most essential of constitutional imperatives. Civil unions respect our diversity, protect people's privacy, and reinforce our core values of equality and aloha.

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