Hawaiʻi State Senator Gabbard Says He’s Sorry for Voting for Marriage Amendment

Tue, 03/26/2024 - 10:04am

Honolulu, HAWAII — Honolulu Civil Beat is reporting that the person who led the charge to limit marriage rights to between one man and one woman in Hawaii over a quarter of a century ago now says he’s sorry for his role.

“I want to take this opportunity before I vote to sincerely apologize,” Hawaii State Sen. Mike Gabbard said at a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “As some of you know, I played a critical role in the passage of the 1998 constitutional amendment… I want to say to all the people, I’m sorry. I am sincerely sorry if I offended you in any way. That comes from the bottom of my heart,” Civil Beat quoted Gabbard.

Gabbard said that he had intended to vote against House Bill 2802, which proposes a Constitutional Amendment to repeal the Legislature’s authority. And he said he still has “some issues” with the legislation.

But he said his views on marriage have changed over the years.

Gabbard who was born on January 15, 1948, in Fagatogo, American Samoa, was one of eight children of Aknesis Agnes (Yandall) and Benjamin Harrison Gabbard, Jr, a Samoan of American ancestry. Sen. Gabbard is of Samoan and European descent from both his maternal and paternal ancestry.