On Oct. 1, Honolulu made history by unveiling the world’s first Official Pride Tree — the Wilhelmina Tenney Rainbow Shower, Cassia x nealiae. This brilliant and fragrant Hawaiian hybrid honors two women, Wilhelmina Tenney and Marie Neal, who courageously lived in long-term lesbian relationships in the early 20th century at a time when such love often had to be hidden.
As community historians, we were fortunate to work with DeSoto Brown of the Bishop Museum to present this inspiring story to Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who proclaimed the tree as a symbol of Honolulu’s commitment to LGBTQ+ and mahu diversity. And as a gay couple who are legally married — an opportunity not available to Wilhelmina Tenney or Marie Neal and their partners — we felt a profound honor in dedicating a plaque to this tree in the birthplace of the same-sex marriage movement.
But as Election Day nears, our joy is giving way to anxiety. Will Hawaii continue its historic legacy of championing civil rights for all? Or will voter confusion and apathy, combined with the tensions and chaos of the national election, undermine a crucial opportunity to remove a discriminatory clause from our Hawaii Constitution?
Question No. 1 on the ballot asks: “Shall the state constitution be amended to repeal the legislature’s authority to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples?”
The essential answer, for those who support marriage equality, is “Yes.” But many voters are likely to be perplexed by the arcane wording of this constitutional amendment question, which arises from a legal and legislative history with many twists and turns.
It began in 1991 when three local same-sex couples filed a lawsuit against the Hawaii Department of Health for violating the state Constitution by denying them marriage licenses. In 1993 the Hawaii Supreme Court found for the plaintiffs, becoming the first judicial court in the world to recognize a fundamental right to same-sex marriage. While this sparked a global movement, it also incited a severe backlash which, in Hawaii, resulted in amending the state Constitution to allow the Legislature to restrict marriage to one man and one woman. Although this discriminatory clause is currently precluded by federal law, that could change if the United States Supreme Court rolls back its previous rulings on marriage equality as it recently did on abortion.
Although we’d like to believe that Hawaii would never go back, history teaches us how quickly rights can be eroded. In just 30 years, from 1820 to 1850, Hawaii transformed from a society that embraced intimate same-sex relationships into one that classified them as a “crime against nature” punishable by 20 years imprisonment. Today, with the rise of deliberate disinformation networks and volatile social media environments in which prejudice can spread like a virus, swift changes in shared values and governance are now more possible than ever.
Compounding our concern: Under state law, constitutional amendment questions left “blank” on a ballot are counted as a “No” vote. This means that even if polling indicates broad public support for marriage equality, voter education and engagement are critical to ensuring that this support is expressed and recorded by a “Yes” vote.
On Nov. 5, Hawaii has a chance to reaffirm its commitment to civil rights and aloha for all. As always, every vote counts, but this time it’s crucial to understand that a blank ballot translates to a vote against equality. We owe it to trailblazers like Wilhelmina Tenney and Marie Neal to ensure that their legacy of love and courage is not forgotten.
Vote “Yes” on constitutional amendment Question No. 1, and make history by affirming the rights that should belong to all of us.
Partners in life and work Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson are filmmakers and co-directors of the Lei Pua ʻAla Queer Histories of Hawaiʻi project.
