After change of heart, lawmaker who led charge against same-sex marriage apologizes
Published: Mar. 20, 2024 at 8:09 PM HST|Updated: 14 hours ago
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A well-known Hawaii lawmaker who led the battle to stop the legalization of same-sex marriage has issued a public apology, saying his views have evolved.
State Sen. Mike Gabbard (who was not in office at the time) was one of the leaders who passed the constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage in 1998.
On Tuesday, he apologized during a hearing for a House bill to repeal the amendment that gave the Legislature authority to limit marriage.
“I’m sincerely sorry if I offended you in any way and that comes from the bottom of my heart so, please accept my apology,” said Gabbard.
Now 76, he said he was raised in a Catholic family.
His daughter, a prominent former politician, announced her shift away from anti-gay policies in the early 2000s. Gabbard said he was influenced by his daughter and “conversations that we’ve had over the years. He added, “It just makes sense that you’re dealing with a very personal issue.”
Gay activists applauded the change of heart.
“The road to redemption begins with an apology and it’s followed up by real world actions, there’s a lot of damage that was done in 98 and beyond,” said Michael Golojuch, of the Democratic Party of Hawaii.
“He and his family and the crew he led in 98 and beyond, were very nasty,” said Golujuch. “When it got ugly, they ran video, they ran an ad saying If we legalize same-sex marriage here in Hawaii, people are going to be marrying their dog,” Golojuch said.
House Speaker Scott Saiki was in the legislature at the time.
“In a lot of ways, it was also very nasty time because of the level of opposition on this issue,” said Saiki.
State Rep. David Tarnas voted against the constitutional amendment in 1998 and believes it cost him his next election.
“My opponent ran a very divisive and dirty campaign, and demonized me as being the devil incarnate, and tearing apart the moral fabric of our community,” said Tarnas. “Out of that fear, that was really stoked by very dirty campaign by my opponent. I, they voted against me.”
“I know that there were a lot of people who were hurt very deeply by that as the years went by, and so I wanted to say to them, I’m very deeply sorry,” Gabbard said.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
