Discriminatory acts, including anti-transgender laws and rhetoric, continue to permeate national and local elections and legislatures. While we in Hawaii are fortunate to have laws and leaders who for the most part have doubled down on efforts to preserve equality and justice, pockets of racism, homophobia and fearmongering remain in certain political sectors.
This is why the Japanese American Citizens League-Honolulu Chapter (JACL) persists, and why we are committed to support voting “Yes” on the upcoming constitutional amendment on marriage.
As the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization, the JACL is committed to equality and the protection of civil and human rights for all. The JACL has long supported marriage equality. In 1964, the JACL submitted an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia in which ultimately interracial couples were allowed to marry, effectively striking down the fallacy that love can be legislated. In 1994, the JACL national council affirmed the position that marriage is a fundamental human right that should be guaranteed to all, which made the JACL the first nongay organization to support marriage equality.
The JACL, since our inception in Hawaii more than four decades ago, has continuously spoken up, when many have remained silent, to fight for social justice. JACL Honolulu has invested in campaigns against racial fear mongering and vocally stood in solidarity with those marginalized who often have less political power and are suffering under the weight of formal and informal inequity.
It is in this context that JACL Honolulu sounds the alarm and highlights with urgency the terrifying instances of explicit hateful speech and policies targeting the LGBTQ+ community. A growing number of governors have signed laws banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors despite general agreement by medical professionals regarding the medical necessity of such treatment.
Under Florida’s new law, the governor has authorized a provision which could temporarily remove transgender children from their parents if they are found to be receiving gender-affirming care. The hypocrisy of the circumstances under which these governors have elected to intervene in personal, family medical decisions — when it is related to those most marginalized and stigmatized in society — reveals the law’s true purpose of injecting hate and intolerance into our democracy.
We are thankful that most policymakers in Hawaii value diversity and take seriously their role in protecting the rights of all their constituents; we are reminded of this more so now on the eve of a pivotal general election. With this in mind, we call upon our community, allies and elected officials to condemn and call out any who would allow even so much as a single seed of injustice to be planted.
Now is the time to act, in big and small ways: speaking out to correct offensive acts of discrimination; contacting policymakers to ensure they know you expect their unwavering support of equality and opposition to discrimination; volunteering and donating to nonprofits who are on the front lines of the civil rights struggle; showing up in public displays of solidarity; and voting “Yes” on the upcoming constitutional amendment on marriage.
We, as a community, have an opportunity to stand up for what is fair and just and ensure that our state constitution is reflective of our aloha spirit. On Election Day, we urge you to vote “Yes” on Question No. 1 and repeal Art. 1, Sec. 23 of the Hawaii State Constitution, thereby ensuring that the right to marry is afforded to all citizens.
Minda Yamaga, left, Liann Ebesugawa and Jacce Mikulanec submitted this on behalf of the Japanese American Citizens League-Honolulu board of directors.
