Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu
Final Reading Written Remarks for the House Journal
House Bill 444, House Draft 1, Senate Draft 1
Relating to Civil Unions
Thursday, April 29, 2009
I rise in support.
Since our existence, we as a human race have been very judgmental of others, especially a minority sector of people because of their sex, color of skin, ethnicity, religious beliefs, culture, behavior, and lifestyle. It is the majority of the people that decides what is acceptable for society, and often times the minority of the people get the short end of the stick.
Our great state and country has come so far in regards to equality and compassion. In the past, we had laws that discriminated against every type of minority. We have done so much to correct our wrongful acts by changing our laws to be inclusive rather than exclusive.
However, we still have much work to do in creating equality for all in our great state and country. In regards to the same-sex community, not all of our laws extend the same rights to them as we do for the heterosexual community. We as a society want people to take care of each other, rather than harm one another. This “civil unions” legislation would allow heterosexual couples and same-sex couples to enter into a contract. A civil union contract is like our marriage agreement under the law in which everything is shared such as tax liabilities, tax incentives, privacy, personal property, real property and children, and when there is dissolution of the partnership, everything shared is divided as equally as possible. The law protects each partner to be fairly treated.
Keep in mind that we are not only allowing rights, but requiring responsibility on all partnerships. There are legal liabilities if partners do not care for each other. Too often, we hear of cheating, domestic violence, sexual abuse, fighting over money and property, and partnering because of financial greed. Our actions are the real threat to marriage or civil unions.
This “civil unions” bill is a step towards unifying our state and country even further. We as a society must have love and compassion, rather than anger, hate, and discrimination. Let us try to eliminate or at least minimize our judgments on what we see physically before us. We are judging are fellow family, friends, and neighbors because they have a minority lifestyle. Let us look at this issue not only legally, but esoterically. Body is nothing more than emptiness and emptiness is nothing more than body. Rather than just looking at what is before us, let us look deeper and see the souls of others. One’s soul can radiate love and compassion, or it can radiate hate and discrimination. Instead of judging others, we need to look within our own soul and better ourselves. Let us spread love and compassion and provide equality for all. Thank you.
JON RIKI KARAMATSU 