Plenty of people know what it’s like to have family members whose political views are at odds with one another. More unusual is the experience of having that family dynamic play out in public.

Hawaii state Sen. Mike Gabbard has long been a leading voice against same-sex marriage in Hawaii, and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard used to agree with her dad.

But for the past few years, the younger Gabbard has publicly said she believes the government shouldn’t be involved in people’s marriages. (I wrote in early 2102 about how she explained the change in her thinking.)

Today, Hawaii lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage. So how is the congresswoman navigating an outcome that simultaneously represents a victory for her party and a political defeat for her father?

Relatively quietly, so far. 

The congresswoman didn’t send out a celebratory email the way Sen. Mazie Hirono did, for example. (Hirono has publicly supported same-sex marriage since the 1990s.) And in the three hours since today’s vote, Gabbard hasn’t tweeted from either of her accounts, whereas Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Sen. Brian Schatz both published tweets in support of same-sex marriage — and in that order, for those who keep track of that kind of thing. 

Here’s how Rep. Gabbard responded, via a spokesman, to questions sent this afternoon about how she and her dad talk about the issue, and whether either has tried to convince the other to rethink their respective positions: ”With the final passage of this bill today, Hawai’i takes one step closer to ensuring that our government treats all people equally under the law, regardless of who they love.”

We’re hoping to catch up with both Gabbards this week. Stay tuned.

— Adrienne LaFrance