Saturn of Honolulu has responded quickly to questions about their donation to an anti-gay PAC. Their response is reported below.
As reported in "Pacific Business News", page 12, on Monday, March 16, 1998, SATURN of Honolulu donated $625 to Save Traditional Marriage '98. STM'98 is the political action committee which is leading the fight for a "yes" vote on Nov. 3, 1998, for a constitutional amendment to take civil rights away from gay men and lesbians.
The constitutional amendment would give the power to the legislature to limit marriage to heterosexual couples.
Saturn of Honolulu is owned by the Lucas Group, a Northern California
based mega-dealership. The Lucas Group is based near San Francisco.
Does the Lucas Group know what their Honolulu affiliate has done?
The number for the Lucas Group is (408) 255-6400.
Best Regards,
Tom Ramsey
Marriage Project - Hawaii
PO Box 11690
Honolulu, HI 96828
| Subj: The Honolulu Covey Seminar / Political Action
Committee ??
Date: 98-03-24 18:42:22 EST From: mike@saturnhonolulu.com (mike) To All It May Concern, Thanks for your e-mail and for the chance to clear up matters concerning the Stephen Covey workshop here in Honolulu. Although at the time of the seminar I was not the "Managing Retailer" of Saturn of Honolulu, my investigation has uncovered some very disturbing facts. Some of us from Saturn of Honolulu attended the workshop last November for the sole purpose of hearing from the world renown author of "Seven Habits of Highly Successful People" and other books. Along with many others in Hawaii, we did not realize the educational workshop was a political fund raiser. It was never intended that our innocent payment to attend the event would be a donation to any political group or cause -- and certainly not to one we do not support. As you may know, due to many complaints, the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission has investigated the political action committee Save Traditional Marriage and determined there have been violations of the campaign spending laws. Most important, we at Saturn of Honolulu want you to know this. Beyond our commitment to quality, innovation, and continuous improvement in making and selling cars, our company policy is to show respect to every individual in action, voice, and spirit. We believe in including, not excluding, people. We advocate for people, for all people, without prejudice or discrimination of any kind. At Saturn of Honolulu, we are constantly reminding ourselves of these principles as part of our effort to "do it right." No one was more shocked or dismayed than I was to find Saturn of Honolulu listed as a contributor to this political group without our consent or intent. We hope this will help you understand how it happened and what our true beliefs are. We are considering legal remedies with "class action" on the grounds of misrepresentation. A copy of this document is posted & can be viewed at http://SaturnHonolulu.com Sincerely,
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