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State Sen. Will Espero (D, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point), a practicing Catholic, is putting his personal religious beliefs aside to support a proposal for same-sex marriage, which he maintains is a matter rooted in equality and fairness.
Two years ago Espero, who regularly attends Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, voted against civil unions for same-sex couples. Since then, after further study of the issue, he has changed his mind.
"I believe that we are all God’s children and that this vote in support (of marriage equality) is the right thing to do for society," Espero said.
Earlier this month Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced that he will call the Legislature back into special session, set for Oct. 28, to consider the Marriage Equity Bill. The push for such legislation by way of a special session increased in the aftermath a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June that enabled legally married gay couples to receive federal benefits. Currently, same-sex couples in Hawaii can enter into civil unions and receive the same rights and benefits as marriage under state law but are not entitled to federal benefits.
Espero has received letters from Catholic constituents urging him to vote against the gay marriage bill. Some cite recent entreaties by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu’s Bishop Larry Silva, who has been lobbying against the bill through sermons and letters that detail the church’s opposition to homosexuality. Silva has said parishioners should pray for Catholic legislators who go against the teachings of the faith rather than condemn them.
In a written statement explaining his stand on the same-sex marriage issue, Espero said: "My position is about equality and fairness. It is not about my religion’s beliefs being forced on a society or people who are not Catholics. There was a time blacks were slaves; a time when Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, and Puerto Rican plantation laborers were second-class citizens; when a woman was expected to stay home and take care of the house and children; when a brown man could not marry a white woman; when minorities couldn’t go to college.
"Thank goodness times have changed. Thank goodness people have evolved and become better" and that prejudice and discrimination are less commonplace.
State Rep. Della Au Belatti (D, Makiki-Tantalus), who grew up in the Catholic faith, agrees with Espero’s reasoning on the issue.
"We have to represent all the people of Hawaii," Au Belatti said.
"We’re confronted with very tough decisions. But we don’t simply represent the devout Catholics in our community. We have to represent Buddhists, Shintoists (among others) and Christians who don’t share the same beliefs. We can’t elevate one religion’s beliefs over all others. That’s in our (U.S.) Constitution."
She pointed out that the late Hawaii Gov. John A. Burns, a devout Catholic, wrestled with his personal beliefs before deciding to allow abortion to become law in 1970. At that time, Burns said he could not in good conscience condone abortion and symbolically declined to sign the landmark bill. However, as a former police officer, he acknowledged that the restrictive 100-year old abortion law was harmful to women and needed to be changed.
Au Belatti said same-sex couples and their families are vulnerable without the legal security of marriage and all the government and spousal benefits that go with it — "How do you square that with insuring social justice, which is what the Catholic faith also espouses?"
The church’s stance on issues such as homosexuality have left Au Belatti, a graduate of Mayknoll School, disenchanted with the religion. "I am a Christian. I still embrace what a lot of the Catholic faith says, but I don’t believe everything."
Espero contends that a religious exemption in the bill should assure churches that "they will not be forced or mandated to perform same-sex marriages." He added, "We’re not forcing your religion to do something it is not supposed to do."
Pope Francis’ recent headline-grabbing remarks about gays reassured Espero. "He showed understanding and compassion when he asked, ‘Who are we to judge?’" These were landmark, historical words by our pope. He has changed the discussion, in my opinion, within the church," Espero said.
In a story that appeared in The New York Times on Thursday, the pope elaborated: "I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge. By saying this, I said what the catechism says. Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: It is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person."
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