The head of Hawaii’s police officers union said he is standing by his opposition to the same-sex marriage bill and other comments he made before a legislative committee Monday despite the charge by a gay Honolulu police officer who said the actions cast a shadow over the Police Department’s integrity when dealing with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Tenari Ma’afala, president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, told a joint House committee that he does not oppose the gay lifestyle, but is against same-sex marriage. "I stand by my beliefs," the longtime New Hope Oahu Church member said. "I’m not going to let any man, woman or child tell me how to believe, how to pray and how to live my lifestyle."

A 24-year officer, Ma’afala said he will continue to uphold the law as long as he is a police officer but warned that when he retires, he may become a "lawbreaker" if the same-sex marriage bill becomes law. "From a law enforcement, law-abiding citizen, you would turn me into a lawbreaker," he said.

"The bottom line is this: The day I retire and bills like this are introduced, I will never, ever honor such law," Ma’afala continued. "You would have to kill me to disrespect and dishonor my father in heaven. You would have to kill me to impose these types of laws upon my children, my nieces and my nephews, that’s what I’m saying."

But police Cpl. John Zeuzheim, a 13-year veteran who is openly gay and testified for the bill, said in an email sent to the news media he believes Ma’afala was out of line in making his comments and "singlehandedly destroyed any trust" between police officers and the LGBTcommunity.

Zeuzheim, in the email to HPD Chief Louis Kealoha and Ma’afala, said LGBT community members have voiced concerns to him about their distrust of police officers in their dealings with them. "Ihave tried to convince members of this community that Honolulu Police Department truly acts with Integrity, Respect and Fairness," he wrote, citing HPD’s motto.

But Zeuzheim said the decision by Ma’afala, SHOPO’s high-profile leader the last 12 years, to testify against the bill and the comments he made undermines that trust, even if he tried to make it clear he was speaking on his own behalf, not that of the union or HPD officers.

Asked at a news media availability Tuesday afternoon to clarify his comments, Ma’afala said he would leave his youngest daughter, who is still in secondary school, home from class if the lessons of the day are to include teaching about the homosexual lifestyle.

School Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said in a news release Tuesday afternoon that "for the record, the (Department of Education) does not have marriage as a lesson in its curriculum"and that students are taught "how to treat each other with respect and aloha."

Ma’afala said that as a retiree, he would also strongly oppose any laws that would force a church to perform gay marriages if doing so would run against its teachings.

Ma’afala went as far as to say that he may retire sooner if the same-sex bill and related bills become law.

Zeuzheim said even if Ma’afala insists he will uphold the law until he retires, "if someone is so vehemently opposed to a law that you would have to kill him before he would uphold it, that would overwhelm the weaker statement that he believes he must do his duty as an officer first."

Zeuzheim, in his email, called on HPD to "put out a clear statement indicating Tenari’s statements do not reflect the sentiments of our department or all of its officers."

Kealoha, in a three-paragraph statement, said HPD does not have a position on same-sex marriage and does not consider it a law enforcement issue.

HPD employees are free to express their opinions as private individuals, he said.

Asked by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for comment, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a kumu hula and teacher at a Hawaiian charter school who is mahu wahine (transgender), said she agrees with Zeuzheim that Ma’afala’s comments may foster distrust in the community.

Wong-Kalu said that is especially true among those in the LGBT community who have had negative experiences with officers, adding that she felt discriminated against when she sought help from officers during an emergency years ago.