Leadership change good for democracy

I am baffled by Richard Borreca’s latest commentary ("State House power shifts make every bill problematic," Star-Advertiser, On Politics, Jan. 29), which bemoans that, with the change in House leadership, "no longer is it enough to just secure the support of the faction running the House" and lobbyists now have to ask "all 51 lawmakers … about their support on a specific bill."

Isn’t representative democracy supposed to be about each legislator evaluating the merits of each bill on her own and then voting based on her own assessment of whether the billwould advancethe best interests of her constituents and the state as a whole?

If the change in the House means that representatives no longer blindly follow the marching orders of leadership, that does not raise "the potential for destruction," as Borreca laments. Rather, it’s a cause for celebration because our representatives will finally be free to do their jobs.

David Henkin
Kaneohe

Adoptions are both joyful and painful

An article celebrating the adoption process left out a significant voice: that of the adoptee ("Year-end adoptions brighten Family Court," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 29).

While it can be joyous, I personally know adoption is also about unspoken loss and separation.

I’ve worked in the U.S. and in South Korea with adult international adoptees as they seek answers about their origins, as well as biological and adoptive family members. Only as adults are most adoptees allowed to explore the idea of grieving the losses related to their adoption. Though it’s not the whole story, adoption is also about loss.

Perpetuating the myth that children who are adopted are unwanted or unloved by their biological parents or families allows us to easily justify adoption, and feel good about it.

Adoptees should be given the opportunity to recognize the losses, along with the gains, of their adoption experiences.

Katie Putes
Founder, Korean Adoptees of Hawai‘i

Combat is immoral, for men and women

What’swiththe latest media fanfare in promoting the end to the official ban on women in frontline combat roles ("Military makes right call on women," Star-Advertiser, Our View, Jan. 25)?

Are we fair-minded citizens supposed to join in the — quite frankly — misguided and manipulated movement to support this example of gender equality?

Yes, it’s true that the age-old discrimination against women has been an ugly — and too-slowly eroding — cultural bias and should be actively opposed. But in this particular case of misplaced priority, the larger and much more urgent debate should be: "Why are we asking our young people, including our ‘better half,’ to engage in violent actions as part of America’s imperial foreign policies that have killed literally untold thousands of innocent civilians globally since 2001?"

I know I speak for millions of our planetary citizens in not applauding this latest thinly veiled "reform." I don’t want my sisters and girlfriends to participate in any "equal opportunity" promotion as either cannon fodder or aggressorsfor increased state-sponsored violence.

Danny Li
Keaau, Hawaii island

Partnerships can cut out public will

The Hawaii State Constitution affirms: "All political power of this State is inherent in the people and the responsibility for the exercise thereof rests with the people. All government is founded on this authority."

If that’s still the case, I question the authority of our elected bodies to form so-called "public-private partnerships" without consent of the people. That is, I wonder if the Public Land Development Corp. is even legal?

The fear, of course, is that we are incrementally handing control of government to unelected, unregulated corporate powers — not the sort of government the framers of the U.S. Constitution had in mind. The fact that these "public-private partnerships" appear to be a trend across our nation, on every level of government, does not make it OK, or any less frightening.

Richard Morse
Makiki

Don’t penalize lawful gun owners

Another legislative session and another assault on lawful firearms owners. This year it seems that the assault has been pushed to absurdity.

The proposal for the renewal of gun registrations yearly, for starters. Firearms registration is having a hard time keeping up now. What would it be like with yearly registrations? And what would it accomplish?Only lawful owners are registering their guns. Criminals do not register their guns.

We firearms owners peacefully follow the rules. We do this so that we can own firearms for purposes of sport, hunting, collecting or providing a means to defend our families and homes.

We know there are people who hate guns and those who fear guns, but they should not be able to prevent others from owning guns. They should realize that lawful gun owners defend everyone. The criminal does not know who is armed and who is not.

Jack Pechous
Wahiawa

Okino’s comments breached decorum

As a mother and a social worker, I applaud Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s understanding that justice has to be part of every issue when dealing with the public.

His action to withdraw the nomination to the Honolulu City Council’s Committee on Ethics Appeals Board for Gary Okino was brave, legal and reassuring that all our children of all ages will be safe in dealing with the Honolulu City and County government.

As president of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays-Oahu, it was so hard to sit in the Council committee meeting on Jan. 22 and hear the prejudicial, unethical and harmful rants of someone who has yet to understand that the spirit of aloha calls for decent language for all citizens.

The rants that day took me back to 1996 when I sat in the Capitol and had to endure the same painful messages.Not one person called for order and decorum then, nor was it called for in Honolulu Hale on Jan. 22.

The Rev. Carolyn Martinez Golojuch
Kapolei