Focus of marriage debate now about religious freedom

The reality of the gay marriage issue in Hawaii is this: Neil Abercrombie had 142,304 votes and Mufi Hannemann had 90,590.

Same-sex marriage was an issue in the 2010 primary election for Democrats large and small. On the statewide stage, Abercrombie and Hannemann had different opinions, and on a more granular level, in Pearl City’s House district, state Rep. Blake Oshiro, openly gay, defeated former Councilman Gary Okino, an aggressive critic of gays and same-sex marriage.

Voters’ minds swirl with various reasons why they make the decisions they do, but in Hawaii in 2010, their minds were made up.

It became clear that opposing gay marriage or even gay rights in general was not an issue that would give you a win or even traction.

With Hannemann’s and Okino’s losses, Hawaii effectively retired the black-or-white, yes-or-no quality of the gay marriage debate.

Today as the Legislature prepares for an October special session to take up the question of legalizing gay marriage, the issue is mostly about what will be the impact on churches.

The issue is whether the law will force churches to marry gay couples even if it violates the church’s beliefs.

Proponents of gay marriage say they are drafting a law that will exempt churches as long as they do not offer other commercial services.

In some aspects, the issue has become one not of civil rights, but religious freedom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints earlier this month sent out a Sunday letter to members noting the issue.

The Mormon Church has been a major player in the same-sex marriage debate and provided much money and expertise enabling passage of the 1998 state constitutional amendment that gave the Legislature the power to define marriage.

"Members are encouraged to study this legislation prayerfully and then as private citizens contact your elected representatives in the Hawaii Legislature to express your views about the legislation," the letter read.

"Whether or not you favor the proposed change, we hope that you will urge your elected representatives to include in any such legislation a strong exemption for people and organizations of faith," it continued.

This is far different from the strong public opposition in 1998 and it is also a change from the 2010 elections. Hannemann is Mormon and had based his opposition to same-sex marriage on his religious beliefs, but now the argument has shifted.

Leaders within the Mormon Church are privately saying that after supporting the high-profile battle in California over Proposition 8 — which limited marriage to a man and a woman and was overthrown by the courts — there is a reluctance to fight the issue head on.

Not included in the argument is the acknowledgement that the issue of gay marriage just is not the polarizing issue it was little more than a decade ago.

The religious vote in Hawaii, which has always been more imagined than real, is now not likely to have much impact at all.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.