When the 55 hours of testimony ended, when more than a thousand people had spoken, when Hawaii’s Legislature was acting to make gay marriage legal, the most powerful words were spoken by a 13-year-old girl, Shylar Young.
The question of whether two people of the same gender can be a family with all that entails was answered in Shylar’s testimony about her two mothers.
"President Abraham Lincoln believed that all men and women shall be treated equally. It is like how the black slaves fought for their rights, and now we the gay families are fighting for our rights," she wrote.
"The Bible says that God created every man, woman, and child perfect. So that means that gay people were created perfect, too."
Shylar is the daughter of Tambry and Suzanne Young, who have been a couple for 30 years. She is a remarkably poised young teen. In an interview during the House debate on gay marriage, Shylar talked about going with her parents as they attended meetings advocating for same-sex marriage.
"When I was little I would not pay attention, play and fall asleep under the table. As I grew older, I realized this is a really big problem for my moms," she said. "I realized I need to be more involved. I am so shy, but I think I need to break out of my shell and show the world what my family is all about."
In her testimony, Shylar stated: "What’s the big deal!
"There’s no reason how having two people of the same sex love each other should be such a big deal. It’s rude, it’s crazy, and it’s just not necessary for those who oppose same-sex marriage to fear it.
"It’s none of their business how our family lives. But it is the government’s business to ensure our family is treated the same as all other families and provided equal rights under the law as required by the U.S. Constitution," she said in her testimony.
To the demand repeatedly brought up during testimony that a child must have a mother and a father, Shylar answered: "I hear people say you need a mom and a dad. My friend, Will, had a dad and he lost his dad. So what about people like him?
"Are you saying they are going to be messed up even though they are part of a straight couple?"
Tambry Young, in her own legislative testimony, recalled precisely what it is like being a family.
"After we were married in Massachusetts, we purchased an item at a Boston mall and Shylar questioned Suzanne about why she was not signing her name as Suzanne Young because we got married yesterday and we are all Youngs now.
"This is when we realized that being married meant more than just being granted rights; it was, to Shylar, a symbol of what made us a family," Tambry Young said.
With her concluding testimony, Shylar explained the gay marriage struggle and its inevitable triumph.
"Going to hell after you die is not based on what sex you love. It is based on if you were bad in your life.
"I find it mean and cruel that people think that we will go to hell based on who we love. They just don’t understand us. So just think about it, haters. You haters are going to hate, and us fighters are going to fight, fight for what’s right.
"My family is a fire. Some flames may give up when the rain comes to put it out. But the true heat in the coals will never die."
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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him aT rborreca@staradvertiser. com.
