HRC Blog

All signs are pointing to action this week on the Civil Unions bill here in Hawaii.  The exact timeline is not yet known, but our anticipation is high that we’ll see some movement.  So what exactly does that mean?  It means it’s time to ramp up our activities for what may be the final push to get this bill to the Governor’s desk. 6:00 AM:  So today, I woke up and tried to catch up on the DC emails that flood my inbox while I’m trying to get some sleep – it’s a six hour time difference!  7:30 AM:  I started making calls to all the media outlets to make sure they received the media advisory we had put out the night before announcing our “Voices of Faith” press conference and lobby day at the capitol.  This event was organized to make sure that the Senators and other residents of Hawaii knew that our opposition didn’t have a monopoly on faith and religion. 8:45 AM:  I finally get my shower in before heading to Honolulu.  I’m staying in Kaneohe, which is all the way over on the other side of the island (but still only 10 miles from downtown). 9:30 AM:  I left for the State Capitol. 11:00 AM:  Showtime.  We had a couple dozen clergy and other faith voices represented.  Low and behold, my calls earlier that morning paid off as we had three TV cameras and several print media outlets in attendance.  Four clergy representing four different faiths on the islands spoke to the media and then the entire group answered questions afterwards.  All in all, it was a rousing success. 11:30 AM:  I left the clergy as they were heading inside to sit in on the session and then make the rounds lobbying the Senators.  I had to go deliver some sign making materials for our 2nd sign waving in 3 days and then off to the airport to return a spare set of keys to the car rental company (yes, I locked my keys in the trunk at the capitol). 1:00 PM:  Back at Alan’s house in Kaneohe to work on research for a business piece we’re doing to show yet another angle and another community that supports the benefits that go along with this legislation.  The calls went fairly well and we ended up with more than 15 companies to include on the flyer. 4:00 PM:  Back to the capitol for more sign waving!  We broke 100 volunteers AGAIN and the shots were amazing.  We’ll be doing this activity again tomorrow evening and then on Wednesday morning and evening.  This really is a Hawaii tradition and people really get into it.  Never thought I would “shaka” so much in all my life, but the response from passers-by warranted it.  If the Senators wanted to see the support from average residents they only had to look and open their ears.

7:00 PM:  Waiting on Alan’s husband, JP, to get home so we can go eat – so in the meantime, here I am writing to let you know how the day went.  Long story short - it was quite amazing!