State Rep. K. Mark Takai, who voted against civil unions and had been undecided on gay marriage, said Tuesday that he supports marriage equality.
Takai (D, Halawa-Aiea-Newtown) said he reconsidered his position in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that legally married gay couples are entitled to federal benefits and the special session of the Legislature this month on a gay marriage bill.
"I think that my vote in a couple of weeks will be a vote that I will, years from now, appreciate and not regret," Takai said by telephone from the East Coast, where he is traveling. "So, more than anything else, I wanted to make sure that I was voting the way I think I should have voted a few years ago. It just took me a little while, I think, to just go through everything and, like many people — especially elected officials — feelings on this particular issue have evolved. My evolution just, I think, took some time.
"But I’m glad to have this opportunity."
Takai’s conversion puts the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s vote count in the House at 28-17 in favor of the bill, with six lawmakers undecided. The vote count in the Senate is 21-4.
Takai voted against civil unions in 2011 and just last week said he was undecided on gay marriage.
In a written statement, Takai said he has served alongside gays and lesbians in the Hawaii National Guard and that the experience underscored the importance of treating everyone fairly. He also said he has heard from religious leaders on both sides of the issue.
But Takai said that leadership is about making tough calls, and he has concluded there are no good reasons to prevent every Hawaii resident from marrying whom they love.
Takai is running in the Democratic primary election for Congress in urban Honolulu’s 1st Congressional District, so his vote will likely be closely watched by Democratic primary voters.
The four other declared candidates in the primary — state Sen. Will Espero, Honolulu City Councilmen Stanley Chang and Ikaika Anderson, and activist Kathryn Xian — support marriage equality. State Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, who is considering a campaign, has been an opponent.
