In the last 50 years, religious conservatives have scored few victories in Hawaii. They did manage to oust a half-dozen pro-gay marriage lawmakers and lead a successful drive for a constitutional amendment to reject same-sex marriages a decade ago.
Beyond that, they’ve had little influence in a state known for its moderate to liberal leanings.
Catholic and evangelical Protestant leaders hope to push Hawaii politics rightward, preparing an election-year effort in 2010 to organize their parishioners into voting blocks that can help elect like-minded candidates. And they are hoping to use the issue of civil unions to get them there.
The state Legislature next year is expected to reconsider a proposal to allow gay and lesbian couples to form civil unions. The measure, which is on hold in the state Senate, generated some of the largest rallies ever seen at the normally placid Capitol earlier this year.
“Conservatives (almost) never win here,” said Garret Hashimoto, chairman of the Hawaii Christian Coalition. But “we won big in 1998, and this issue is coming up again in 2010. So hopefully, 1998 will again surface in 2010.”
Civil union supporters say they have no qualms with evangelicals trying to improve their political influence, but contend that voter opinions on civil unions and gay marriage have turned more favorable since 1998. They cite the support of religious leaders in Hawaii, including several, mostly mainline Christian churches.
“We’re now at a point where the mainstream position that’s supported by the majority, both here in Hawaii and the whole country, is civil unions,” said Alan Spector of the Family Equality Coalition, which backs equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians.
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