Hawaii Governor Vetoes LGBT Civil Rights Bills

[Quetzal]

Hawaii Governor Vetoes LGBT Civil Rights Bills

(Honolulu, Hawaii) Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle has vetoed two LGBT civil rights bills passed by the legislature and allowed a third to go into effect without her signature.

The two bills vetoed by Lingle would have added protections based on gender identity and expression to the state's employment discrimination law. Despite passing the bill by large margins, the legislature took no action to override the veto before adjourning for the summer.

<snip>

The rejection of the transgender bills prompted about 20 members of Kulia Na Mamo, a transgender support group to stage a noisy demonstration near the capitol, and drew criticism from the nation's largest LGBT rights group.

"No one should be fired simply for who they are," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese from Washington.

more...

http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/07/071305hawaii.htm

I really don't understand why Lingle vetoed the gender identity & expression bills - you can't walk around UH campus or the island of Moloka'i without seeing one of our "mahu" friends. Signing this bill into law would have been the "Hawaiian" thing to do.

[bertha katzenengel]

1. Does anyone have a single clue as to why she did this?

checking in from vacation; prob'ly won't see your response 'til next week. :hi: all.

Big fat wet raspberry for Lingle. Get a clue, chica. :eyes:

[Quetzal]

2. No clue at all

Me thinks it is because she trying to gain support in the Hope Church/Calvary Chapel regions of the state the are sprawling - mainly on the 'Ewa plain of O'ahu. Her lieutenant governor, Duke Aiona, recently teamed up with the Christian Coalition of Hawaii to form Transformation Hawaii. Recent comments by Duke include "Hawaii belongs to Jesus" :eyes: Nevermind that Hawaii is home to an extremely large population of Bhuddists and people of other faiths.

Hopefully the people of Hawaii will finally realize that this governor ain't no moderate - she is the same as the George Bush creeps on the mainland. She is just looking out for her own re-election and her own party, not the people of Hawaii.

[demobabe]

4. You have a clue

Republican installed governor. They're going after any civil rights they can - nationwide. Part of a bigger plan. Legislating morality.

We have to fight back on these kinds of things. They chip away at the civil rights, then bring in the Christian Coalition judges, and then it's all over. The law is no longer the law, the Constitution no longer the Constitution.

I know this may sound alarmist, but I've watched this happen first hand in Alabama. Take a look at that state. They've turned it from a democratic state to having Republican Governor, officials, and all the judges from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court are all Republicans. I watched first hand a circuit court judge hand down a sentence... she said, "there isn't proof, but I just FEEL like there is something going on here, so I'm going to sentence Mr. XXXXX to a year in Alabama jail."

Appealed to the Court of Appeals, they write a response to protect the judge, and if you read it, could easily shoot a million holes in it - it made no logical sense at all, and was grasping at straws to try to tailor the response around the result they wanted. Supreme Court declined to hear it.

I've seen the future, and it's ugly, which is why we need to work to keep that from happening here.

[KamaAina]

3. Ironically, rumors about Lingle's own preference have circulated for years

I, for one, take no part in this, preferring to focus on her cozy ties with top-level repukes like Karen Hughes, and on her massive fundraising from the mainland. However, you would think that someone who has been the target of innuendo based on sexual preference might not have been so quick to whip out the veto pen.

Meanwhile, what's with the Leg not bothering to override, when they clearly had the votes to do so? Are civil rights no longer considered a top-drawer issue here?

[election_2004]

5. What's saddest about this is....

Lingle signed a rather silly "animal rights" bill earlier this summer.

What's even sadder is that she'd probably make a better president than most of the Republicans on the mainland.