Hawaii Business Roundtable Revises Call For Veto of Civil Unions Bill
With nearly 20 HBR members now distancing themselves from original letter, executive committee revises remarks and drops call for veto
Washington – Today, the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Hawaii applauded the revised statement on the civil unions bill by the executive committee of the Hawaii Business Roundtable. After Gary Kai, Executive Director of the HBR, urged the Governor to veto the civil unions bill on behalf of the organization’s executive committee, nearly 20 HBR members distanced themselves from the letter, including some who came out in favor of civil unions. A copy of the new HBR letter is available at http://www.hrcbackstory.org/
“Business leaders recognize that fostering an atmosphere of diversity and inclusion is the best way to attract, recruit and retain the best talent Hawaii has to offer. We urge Governor Lingle to do for the entire state of Hawaii what leaders of Hawaii’s top businesses are already doing for their employees and sign civil unions into law,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We’re proud to have played a role in spurring the action of the Hawaii Business Roundtable today that was a direct result of weeks of hard work by local advocates including Equality Hawaii, the LGBT Caucus of the Hawaii Democratic Party, PFLAG (Oahu) and Pride Alliance, among others.”
“Following the original call for veto by Gary Kai and HBR, we knew we had to mobilize our friends within the business community,” said Alan Spector, Equality Hawaii Legislative Affairs Co-Chair. “With the help of the Human Rights Campaign and their national network of supportive businesses, we were able to apply the appropriate pressure and turn a potential devastating blow into one of our strongest arguments. Businesses know that treating their workforce with dignity and respect helps their bottom line and we urge Governor Lingle to do the same for the state of Hawaii.”
On Monday, Governor Lingle indicated she would wait until July 6, the final day of consideration, before announcing her intentions concerning HB 444. She also indicated her reason for placing the bill on the list of potential vetoes was to give her more time to fully consider the bill and not because she had concerns on the merits of the bill.
Equality Hawaii is dedicated to securing equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their families in Hawaii. We envision a Hawaii in which LGBT people and their families have full equality in all areas of the law.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.