Dear Senator Gabbard,

We have witnessed a significant paradigm shift in national and local politics on the issue of same-sex marriage and full equality for GLBT citizens. President Obama has evolved and now openly and enthusiastically supports and advocates for marriage equality- for legalized same-sex marriage across America. In Hawaii our entire congressional delegation has come out in favor of marriage equality. Your daughter, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, has openly touted her own evolution and current support for allowing same-sex marriage.

Contrary to the evolution of American society, you, Senator Gabbard, and a number of your legislative colleagues, have devolved, by signed and introducing legislation that “Proposes a constitutional amendment to reserve marriage to relationships between one man and one woman.”

Shame on you, Senator Gabbard. This is a religious view of marriage that has no right to be considered in our Constitution or laws. SB1292 is outrageous and it should not receive a committee hearing in either the Senate or House.

I remind you, Senator Gabbard, and others, that it wasn’t so long ago when you, just like Gary Okino, made hateful, false, defamatory, derogatory, and ignorant statements about homosexuality and the GLBT community.

The Honolulu Weekly asked readers: “Who’s done more to limit gay rights – and impugn homosexuals – than any single Hawaii citizen?” The answer: “Mike Gabbard.”

According to the Weekly article, you said homosexuality was “…an unnatural, unhealthy, and immoral activity.” That is almost exactly the same thing Gary Okino said last week, before his city appointment was withdrawn by the Mayor and he was ridiculed in the press.

You also told the Weekly, “I believe that all of our problems – be they environmental, crime, health, economic, wars, etc. – can be traced to people holding on to and living by [a] hedonistic and therefore selfish world view. … This is why [homosexuality] is such an important issue to me.”

You claimed, “…those who choose a homosexual lifestyle as embracing a “false identity,” one that gives into base desires rather than suppresses them.” And went even further, stating, “Nature tells us that it’s not a good idea to be inserting penises (or other foreign objects) into the anus/rectum because these excretory organs are designed specifically for eliminating things, not putting things into them.”

You also told Honolulu Magazine, “Homosexuality is not normal, not healthy, morally and scripturally wrong.” Again, this is almost identical to Gary Okino’s statement.

Over the years, you are on the record making many statements virtually identical to those spewed last week by Mr. Okino. You, Senator Gabbard, have yourself called homosexuality “an abomination” and have asserted that homosexuals are “unclean,” “diseased,” “unnatural,” and “deviant.”

You should retract these and all other such hurtful and inappropriate statements and apologize to the GLBT community and Hawaii residents at large for your insulting and ignorant behavior over the years.

You, Senator Gabbard, are an embarrassment to human decency. Your words are a putrid stain on Hawaii’s political history and run contrary to the Spirit of Aloha. For your hurtful and hateful words, you should be expelled from the Democratic Party and forced to resign from the Senate.

However, and in spite of all this, you could still redeem yourself. Renounce your hatred and publicly apologize. Then withdraw your support for and oppose SB1292, while coming out in strong support for SB1369 and/or HB1109, the current marriage equality bills.

Do the right thing, Senator Gabbard. Come out from the darkness. Rise above ignorance and intolerance. Come join us, including your daughter, to stand on the correct side of history. Why go down with your legacy as “Hawaii’s #1 Anti-Gay Bigot”?

It’s time to stop perpetuating the hate. Evolve! “All you need is love.” Redeem yourself. You will forgiven. You will be welcome.

However, should you choose to continue promoting “The Gospel According to Mike Gabbard*”, you will be roundly condemned, openly criticized, and publicly ridiculed by an ever-growing community of GLBT and secular civil rights activists and supporters who intend to fight and win passage of full marriage equality in Hawaii in 2013.

Sincerely,

Mitch Kahle
GLBT Civil Rights Activist

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