NiuZila: Land of full fat milk and welfare money

Last year 33 of the 51 house members of the Hawaiian House of Representatives voted in favour of a bill that would create same-sex civil unions in the state.  However, on Friday last week, the House leadership postponed the bill indefinitely after a large campaign by many conservative Christian groups to have the proposed law stopped.

The bill would have granted homosexual partners all the legal benefits of marriage, except the name itself, and would have made Hawaii the sixth state with a similar law.  As many of you would know, Civil Unions were successfully made into law in 2004 here in Niu Sila/New Zealand - something I supported back then, and still support now.  Six years on, the world hasn’t ended, the sky hasn’t fallen through, and any moral decay already existing in society hasn’t increased since many New Zealanders have taken on Civil Unions.  In fact, life has gone on as normal.

I think the Hawaiian legislature, and the conservative Christians who opposed the bill, are wrong. 

Firstly, Civil Unions are not marriages, although I wouldn’t have a problem with marriage for same-sex couples either.  So on one hand, the ‘institution’ of marriage is protected if same-sex couples can only have Civil Unions.  However, on the other hand, why should the State deny same-sex couples the right to be married?  Anything less, even by name, seems discriminatory.  I know many of our people are quite conservative when it comes to this topic, and would retort that marriage is between a man and a woman, made before God - “It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

But such an argument leads me to my second point.  The separation of Church and State.  The State should not have a preference of religion.  Secular States cannot be biased to one religion especially in an increasingly diverse population.  Therefore we can’t or shouldn’t use our own personal morals and impose it on everyone else.

And thirdly, as I mentioned above, same-sex couples being married doesn’t hurt anyone, unless you have your own prejudices or bigoted views.  If Aunties Tom and Dom from down the road decided to get married/have a Civil Union, how does that change anything for you?  Do they suddenly smell really bad?  Do they impinge on your right to walk down the road?  Do they hurt your eyesight now they are in union of some kind?

At my old job there were a couple of openly gay men.  To be honest, I initially was disgusted.  They were loud and flamboyant, always wanting to know everybody’s news.  But during my time there, they were the most understanding of people, and very loyal friends to not only myself, but everyone else too.  I’m not saying every gay person is flamboyant or loyal, but my initial feeling of unease was unfounded and to this day we have good friendships, just like the many other friendships I have made over the years.  I realised they are normal people. 

Soon after the passing of the law in 2004, the couple had a Civil Union.  And guess what?  We are still friends.  Nothing changed in our friendship, in our interaction, in their attitudes to others.

At the societal level, why must we deny normal the right to be in union of some sort afforded to other normal people?  On the theological level, let God be the sole judge on ALL of us for ALL our actions, including how we treat same-sex couples.

At the back of the New Zealand Herald there is a daily section, Sideswipe, with funny and outrageous quirky happenings in Niu Sila / New Zealand and around the world, with commentary provided by readers.  But lately there’s been a bit of debate around a Cosmopolitan Club in Manurewa, Aukilani Saute / South Auckland. 

A reader wrote: “Bureaucracy gone mad? A woman and her 5-month-old baby came into the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club. The door person asked the mother to remove the baby’s woollen hat because hats were not to be worn in the club. Another time a child was stopped because he had a number on the back of his T-shirt, and numbers on the back of rugby shirts are not allowed. His grandparents had to turn his T-shirt inside out to gain entry. This is a great, well-run family club but surely this is a bit over the top?”  From there other readers wrote in stating similar treatment at this Club including disallowing a muslim student wearing a head scarf

Doug Montgomery from the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club responded saying the no-headwear rules date from when it was considered respectful to remove one’s hat when entering a home. “The club makes an exception for people who have to wear a covering for medical reasons but not for those who wish to wear religious headwear of their own choice. The old unwritten rule has always been that if someone comes in wearing a hat he must shout the bar. In the case of the baby, one cannot always allow for the over-enthusiasm of a door person.”

However a reader retorted saying: “A headscarf worn for religious purposes is not unusual and hardly offensive. The club’s actions smack of intolerance. Wearing a headscarf shouldn’t be compared with the ignorant behaviour of those who wear hats, caps or hoods inside or at the table.”

Many of the comments were along the lines of this readers response: “A Manurewa old boy writes that if his wife went to a mosque she would be expected to cover her head with a scarf. If she did not cover her head, then she would not be made welcome. ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do.’”

There was a similar public response to the dispute between the Worship Centre and Hotel Millennia in Apia, Samoa.  A complaint was lodged by the hotel next door to the open air Church, which claimed the volume of hymn singing had become so insufferable that some guests had packed their bags and moved out.  Samoa’s Supreme Court has sided with the hotel and forced the Worship Centre Church in Apia to stop its Sunday service until it can get the singing noise down below 55 decibels.

I was a bit annoyed.  It seemed like tourism had trumped church in Samoa.  Why should we pander to the tourist dollar?  Especially when it’s compromising our cultural and religious beliefs.  Like they say, “When in Rome do as the Romans do.” - When in Samoa…

One Samoan respondent to a Stuff.co.nz article said “If you ask someone to reduce the way they praise God, God will reduce your life span or punish you in some way. How dare you take anything away from God, without whom there would be nothing! Especially Hotels!”

But somehow I don’t think God judges us on how loud we sing.  God sees our heart.  He also commands us to love our neighbours, even if they think we are annoying.  The church could have provided community outreaches to their neighbours, show our brotherly love.  After all, showing a heart of service would do more to advance God’s kingdom on earth than pursue legal action.  I think God would’ve preferred a solution where we got along with our neighbours rather than cause more strife.

Our God is a compassionate God.  Although I’m sure He loves Rock praise songs as much as traditional hymns, it’s not volume that will get us into heaven or make our lives longer, but it is our heart for God AND his people.