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Notable Names
Lobby Against Marriage Ban
A Bishop Estate trustee and an assistant U.S. attorney who is married to a state senator are fighting the passage of a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-gender marriage. [Correction by Tom Ramsey: the proposed constitutional amendment does not directly ban same gender marriage. It would empower the legislature to do so and overturn Marriage Project - Hawaii's successful Baehr v. Miike court case.] Trustee Oswald Stender and Assistant U.S. Attorney Loretta Matsunaga, wife of Senate Judiciary Chairman Matt Matsunaga (D, Palolo), are members of the executive panel of Protect Our Constitution, a political action committee formed to fight the proposed prohibition on homosexual marriages. The PAC is also opposed to the convening of a constitutional convention. Heading the PAC's executive committee are Alex and Jane Nakatani, Maui residents who have had two sons die of AIDS-related complications and a third murdered. Other panel members include Colbert Matsumoto, attorney and Bishop Estate master; Wally "Famous" Amos, author and founder of Famous Amos cookies; and Yoshiaki Fujitani, retired Honpa Hongwanji minister and same-sex marriage supporter. |
P.S. The Bishop Estate is one of the largest landowners in Hawaii, and one of the most controversial. It is a charitable trust for the education of native Hawaiians, with an endowment that rivals Yale University's and perhaps Harvard's. Their investments span the globe, but the charity is less noticeable. Oswald Stender is the most respected of the trustees and a major critic of the behavior of the majority of the trustees. Colbert Matsumoto spearheads the effort by the Hawaii courts to keep the Estate honestly managed.
Alex and Jane Nakatani have told their story in the book, "Honor Thy Children".
P.P.S. "Protect Our Constitution"
welcomes your financial and personal support. Contributions are NOT
tax deductible;
contributions are LIMITED BY HAWAII LAW
TO $1000. Contributions, in aggregate over the course of the 1998
campaign, are publicly reported if they exceed $100 -- with name, address,
occupation, employer, amount.
The address for Protect Our Constitution
is
PO Box 235704
Honolulu, HI 96823-3511