The Heart of Hawaii: Residents thank senators who supported civil unions, vow to continue fight
March 30, 2009 by Tony Wagner, Western Regional Field Director
By HRC Western Regional Field Director Tony Wagner: You’ve all heard the phrase that we may have lost the battle, but we’re going to win the war, right? Well, that’s exactly what’s happening in Hawaii right now. As we posted on Wednesday, the state Senate failed to recall the Civil Unions bill from committee. Technically, the bill is not dead, but it is going to be difficult to pass - difficult, but not impossible. After the vote, supporters of the bill gathered on the streets in front of the state capitol for more sign waving – in effect alerting the Senators that we’re not going away and we’ll keep fighting this war until we win that final battle.
After the sign waving, we all gathered at Unite Here Local 5 for some dinner and a next steps strategy session. 60 people showed up to be a part of this discussion. In an hour and a half, we formed 4 work groups focused on various aspects of the campaign that need to be addressed. Additionally, we decided that we needed to thank the Senators who supported us. 
On Friday morning, several dozen supporters gathered at the state capitol to thank the 6 Senators who voted to recall the motion. The Senators were all in committee hearings, but left – one at a time – to come meet with us and receive our thanks. It was quite a touching moment and several of them teared up. We also gathered at the capitol again for another sign waving later that day. My two weeks in Hawaii have been very special and we accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Special thanks needs to go out to Alan Spector and all the members of the Family Equality Coalition – they have been doing a great job at reforming the equality movement in Hawaii. I also want to thank Brian and the rest of the Hula’s crew for all the work they have done and for letting me use their facilities as a work space when in Honolulu. Mahalo. Review previous posts on HRC in Hawaii:
- BREAKING: Hawaii Civil Unions Bill Killed in State Senate
- UPDATE: Hawaii civil unions bill
- Pro-equality religious leaders in Hawaii take a stand for civil unions bill
- Family Equality Coalition and Human Rights Campaign Deliver Business Research to Senators
- HRC Legal Director Lara Schwartz participates in Brookings Institute forum on marriage equality
- Hawaii Day 8 – Ramping it up!
- A Week in Review - Hawai’i
- Thousands Rally for Civil Unions in Hawai’i
- Hawai’i Congressman Neil Abercrombie Urges State Legislators to Support Civil Unions
- Hawai’i State Senate Committee Deadlocks on Civil Unions Bill
- Hawai’i House of Representatives Approves Civil Unions Bill
- Bay Area Reporter: Woman Who Helped Lead Crusade Against Marriage Equality in Hawaii Has a Change of Heart
- Civil Unions bill passes first hurdle in Hawai’i
- Equality is heating up Hawai’i
