Same-sex marriage won’t threaten faith

As a pastor, one of the joys of ministry is the opportunity to officiate a wedding.

Over the years I have married couples of all sorts — young, elderly and second marriages.

Marriage is a beautiful part of life, and all people deserve the opportunity to experience it.

Someargue there is a "biblical model" of marriage.Actually, the Bible is filled with all kinds of models of marriage that reflected the cultural practices of the time, including multiple wives, a rule that a widow marry her brother-in-law, concubines (who were a normal part of ancient marriages), as well as having children by slaves.

Allowing same-sex couples to marry would not change any religious beliefs or practices. Hawaii’s proposed marriage-equality law maintains the right of all clergy to decide which marriages they will solemnize, consistent with their faiths.

Rev. Kerry Grogan
Kailua

‘Guests’ exemption dangerously vague

One of the proposed amendments to the draft of the marriage-equality bill is to expand protection for churches that only hold weddings for members to also include approved guests, and delete the section that refers to the public accommodations law ("Exemptions key in same-sex vote," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 16).

Which state agency is going to establish the guest-approval guidelines to protect our nondiscrimination laws?

If this is not done by an official third party, doesn’t that mean citizens can be discriminated against for no good reason?

What state-issued identification should be required to prove religious affiliation? Otherwise, just about anybody could claim his religious beliefs prohibit them from providing services or goods to non-approved citizens.

Wouldn’t unregulatable exemptions open the door to more discrimination lawsuits?

Broader religious exemptions belong to Pandora’s Box just as much.

Willy Shum
Downtown Honolulu

Legislators appear to be stonewalling

Having heard the complaints and frustrations of my friends, colleagues and relatives, I feel compelled to write this letter.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie gave us (the people) several weeks to voice our opinions to our representatives prior to the start of the special session.

What I get from those who tried to voice their concerns was that many legislators are refusing to make appointments, take calls, and who-knows-what with emails and letters.

To me, this is a time for those on both sides of the issue to be heard, but how can we be heard when we are stonewalled?

Have they already made up their minds and the special session is just shibai?

Are the scripts already in place as to how the special session will proceed and end with the governor’s desired outcome?

I hope not.

Dennis Kim
Mililani

HCDA unconcerned with quality of life

Mahalo to the Star-Advertiser for calling attention to the lax security at Kalaeloa, formerly Naval Air Station Barbers Point, which is under the Hawaii Community Development Authority and is now wide open to vandalism, destruction, and neglect of historic homes and trees ("Fires, vandalism plague former base," Star-Advertiser, Oct. 15).

Instead of managing and overseeing Kalaeloa, HCDA is building the governor’s "third city" in Kakaako as rapidly as possible, in line with developers’ specifications, giving little attention to present and future residents’ quality of life.

Is this neglect in Kalaeloa and rushed helter-skelter development in Kakaako what happens when the state agency HCDA controls an area that should be under city control and zoning?

Sharon Moriwaki
Kakaako

HCDA just another PLDC in disguise

It took twoyears for the governor and the Legislature to realize that the Public Land Development Corp. was basically a gift to developers and their bankers, allowing them to bypass common-sense restraints on development in Hawaii.

To their credit, the politicians recognized their mistake and repealed the agency earlier this year.

How long will it take for them to realize that the "workforce housing" policy crafted by the Hawaii Community Development Authority is just another PLDC in disguise?

HCDA’s policy will allow developers to turn Kakaako into a crowded, cheerless forest of cement towers while giving only token consideration to the concerns of the public.

Sharon Yamaoka
Kalihi Valley

HECO should have planned well for PV

It seems to me that Hawaiian Electric Co. is attempting to discourage or slow down the number of solar photovoltaic installations on its system because of the lost revenues it has been experiencing ("HECO application change stymies PV installation, firms say," Star- Advertiser, Oct. 15).

The interconnection studies that HECO mentioned should already have been done as part of its routine distribution planning studies. (I know because I used to work for HECO in its system planning department.)

It’s sad to see that HECO is resistant to the state’s goal in becoming more fuel independent.

As a HECO stockholder, I can understand where it is coming from.

Thomas Mun
Aiea