Date: From: Subject:

2/5/2009 3:57:03 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Hawaii: Urgent--Calls Needed to Stop Civil Unions!

====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== February 5, 2009 Hawaii: Urgent--Calls Needed to Stop Civil Unions! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: The Hawaii Judiciary Committee will hear a bill today to allow civil unions in Hawaii, giving same-sex couples the same rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage. House Bill 444 was recently introduced and is now scheduled to be heard by the Judiciary Committee today at 2 p.m. in House Conference Room 325. Under House Bill 444, individuals of the same sex will be able to form a civil union. If passed, this bill will allow same-sex partners to have "all the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities under law, whether derived from statutes, administrative rules, court decisions, the common law, or any other source of civil law, as are granted to spouses in a marriage." The goal of House Bill 444 is to allow same-sex couples to "marry" but call it "civil union." As an organization, HSLDA is opposed to anything that changes the traditional definition of marriage. The freedom to homeschool rests in part on the protection of marriage as between one man and one woman. Attacks on marriage can also undermine your right to homeschool. Please call now in opposition to House Bill 444. ACTION REQUESTED: Please call and email the House Judiciary Committee members listed below and respectfully tell them you are opposed to House Bill 444. Your message could be as simple as: "Please oppose House Bill 444. Marriage between one man and one woman is a foundation of our civilization. Altering this time-honored institution undermines the family and attacks parental rights. Simply calling it a civil union for individuals of the same sex doesn't change that this is same-sex marriage." If the House Judiciary Committee Member is also a sponsor of the bill, please ask them to withdraw their sponsorship of this bill. You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler; instead you can identify yourself as a concerned citizen and taxpayer. If your last name begins with the letters A through I, please call the representatives in the first group. If your name begins with J through P, please call the second group. If your name begins with Q through Z, call the third group. Everyone should call the chairman. House Judiciary Committee Members Representative Jon Rica Karabatsos, Chair (Co-sponsor of bill) Phone: 808-586-8490 Email: repkaramatsu@Capitol.hawaii.gov GROUP 1 Representative Ken Ito, Vice-Chair Phone: 808-586-8470 Email: repito@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Della Au Beatty (Co-sponsor of bill) Phone: 808-586-9425 Email: repbelatti@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Ride Camarilla Phone: 808-586-6080 Email: repcabanilla@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Melee Carroll (Co-sponsor of bill) Phone: 808-586-6790 From Maui, toll free 984-2400 + 66790 From Molokai and Lanai, toll free 1-800-468-4644 + 66790 Email: repcarroll@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Robert N. Hermes Phone: 808-586-8400 From the Big Island, toll free 974-4000 + 68400 Email: repherkes@Capitol.hawaii.gov GROUP 2 Representative Sylvia Luke (Co-sponsor of bill) Phone: 808-586-8530 Email: repluke@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Angus L.K. McKinley Phone: 808-586-6160 From Maui, toll free 984-2400 + 66160 Email: repmckelvey@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative John M. Mizuno Phone: 808-586-6050 Email: repmizuno@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative her mina M. Morita Phone: 808-586-8435 From Kauai, toll free 274-3141 + 68435 Email: repmorita@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Blake K. Yoshiro Phone: 808-586-6340 Email: repboshiro@capitol.hawaii.gov GROUP 3 Representative Joseph "Joe" Soukis Phone: 808-586-9444 From Maui, toll free 984-2400 + 69444 Email: repsouki@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Clift Tsuji (Co-sponsor of bill) Phone: 808-586-8480 From the Big Island, toll free 974-4000 + 68480 Email: reptsuji@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Glenn Wake (Co-sponsor of bill) Phone: 808-586-6220 Email: repwakai@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Barbara C. Marmot Phone: 808-586-6310 Email: repmarumoto@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Cynthia Thiele (Co-sponsor of bill) Phone: 808-586-6480 Email: repthielen@Capitol.hawaii.gov BACKGROUND: How does redefining marriage or creating civil unions (in effect same-gender marriage) affect your parental rights and your right to homeschool? Here is what the Supreme Court said in 2000 in the case of Trowel v. Granville: "Our jurisprudence historically has reflected Western civilization concepts of the family (a married couple of one man and one woman) as a unit with broad parental authority over minor children. Our cases have consistently followed that course." An attack on one-man, one-woman marriage is therefore an attack on the foundation of parental rights themselves. Although the proponents of this and similar measures will declare the purpose is to grant rights to individuals, the fruit will be the destruction of parental rights. Thank you for your part in fighting for freedom in Hawaii. Sincerely, Thomas Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How long are you in for? Some families are facing what seems like a lifelong commitment to homeschooling, with children at both ends of the spectrum -- some graduating and some just reaching school age. If you're going to be "in" for a while, consider a lifetime membership with HSLDA. It's a good deal for families with more than 10 years of homeschooling ahead. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1936 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ======================================================================