Students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa were asked to complete the statement, "I am against hate in the 808 because …"

"Love knows no gender," Erin wrote.

"Ignorance is not a valid reason, but only a excuse," Suzi said.

"Acceptance has no exceptions," Dixie wrote.

Public opinion on marriage equality has rapidly evolved over the past few years, with young people, in particular, among the most likely to support gay marriage or wonder why it is even an issue.

Students aligned with Hawaii United for Marriage have collected more than 400 signatures on a petition favoring marriage equality as the state Legislature convenes in special session next week to consider a gay marriage bill.

Jeremy Divinagracia, a UH sophomore, said at a news conference Thursday at the UH Campus Center that a vote against equality would be "a terrible message" for a state that prides itself on diversity and the aloha spirit.

Many gay rights advocates compare marriage equality to previous struggles for civil rights, but it remains an open question whether future generations will look back at the debate today as an obvious choice, like most people now view the drive in the 1960s for racial equality and interracial marriage.

Brenden Burk, a UH senior, said the divide may remain as long as established religions and other organizations teach a message that marriage equality is immoral. "But I do think, somewhere down the line, even if it takes longer, it will be an obvious issue," he said.

State Reps. Della Au Belatti (D, Moiliili-Makiki-Tantalus) and Chris Lee (D, Kailua-Lanikai-Waimanalo), who favor marriage equality, praised the students for their activism and signed the students’ petition.

"Many have asked how our next generation will receive marriage equality," Lee said. "But it’s really our next generation that is leading the way, who are overwhelmingly supportive of ending hurtful discrimination, and treating everyone with the same respect and aloha that each of us deserves."

Hawaii United for Marriage, meanwhile, has bought radio ads that argue that marrying the person you love is a basic freedom. The decision to air the ads follows radio and television ad buys by religious conservatives who oppose gay marriage.

"Committed couples and their families, regardless of their sexual orientation, should all have the same rights," the Hawaii United for Marriage radio spot states, urging supporters to contact state lawmakers.

The American Sociological Association announced Thursday that it has filed an amicus brief with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supporting legal challenges to same-sex marriage bans in Hawaii and Nevada.

The appeal of the Hawaii challenge — Jackson v. Abercrombie — is on hold pending the outcome of the special session, which starts Monday. Gay couples sued the state after being denied marriage licenses, claiming a violation of equal protection, but lost in U.S. District Court.

The American Sociological Association maintains that the sexual orientation of parents has no bearing on their children’s welfare. "When the social science evidence is exhaustively examined — which the ASA has done — the facts demonstrate that children fare just as well when raised by same-sex parents," the association’s brief states. "Unsubstantiated fears regarding same-sex parents do not overcome these facts and do not justify upholding the Nevada and Hawaii marriage bans."

The group based in Washington, D.C., says opponents of gay marriage mistakenly portray research from Mark Regnerus, a University of Texas sociology professor who has studied same-sex parenting.

Regnerus told state lawmakers at an informational briefing Wednesday night that the children of same-sex couples do not do as well as children in families where there is a mother and father. He said, however, that the distinction is more about gender than sexual orientation.