Argumentative Essay on Same-Sex Marriage in Hawaii

On what grounds did some people in Hawaii oppose same-sex marriage, according to Kauanui?

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According to Kauanui, some individuals opposed same-sex marriage because they claimed that it violated the constitutional rights of individuals. Also, they opposed same-sex marriage because they claimed that it affected and interfered with their traditional sense of "ohama'' (Kauanui, 2017). They argued that they opposed same-sex marriage for the sake of their children. They claimed that words aloha like Akua means (God is love). Besides, they argued that the same-sex-marriage was against the traditional Hawaiian values, cultural and religious values (Kauanui, 2017). Also, Hawaii people who opposed the law on the same-sex-marriage asserting that the law included a religious exemption since they needed to protect various religious groups and members of clergy who did not want to solemnize or to indulge in the same-sex marriage.

What were the counter-arguments of True Aloha?

The counter-arguments for True Aloha included; promoting and supporting genuine cultural value of Aloha in Hawaii that is inclusive concepts of love and sympathy which did not discriminate against other people. Also, they argued that the cultural roots of aloha are reflective of all its meaning which applies to every individual (Kauanui, 2017). Besides, the True Aloha confronted various distorted forms of cultural appropriations that were deployed by non-Kanaka who were against the bill on the same-sex-marriage since they had limited understanding. Also, they were against de-colonial forms and recovery of culture which are found in the indigenous customary practices that reveal multiplicity in terms of sexuality and gender.

Why was the Hawaiian state legislature's passage of the same-sex bill a form of "settler colonial continuity "according to the author?

According to the author the Hawaiian national legislature's passage of the same-sex marriage bill is seen as form of "settler colonial continuity" because settler's sentimentalized the notions of Hawaiian traditions thus complicating all of this without regard for the on-going contestation of US. Besides, Hawaiian state legislature's passage of the same-sex marriage bill is seen as form of "settler colonial continuity because the history of Christian conversion brought about racist politics of colonial modernity hence shaping what is considered normative in Hawaiian contexts in the contemporary period Kauanui, 2017). In addition, it is seen as settler colonial continuity due to existence of the visible inherent Hawaiian population along with white and Asian American settler that creates not only a binaristic us but also them paradigm which creates an intricate structure of racial power dynamics which Hawaii natives continue to grapple with such as same -sex marriage.

References

Kauanui, J. K. (2017). Indigenous Hawaiian Sexuality and the Politics of Nationalist Decolonization. Critically Sovereign: Indigenous Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, 45-68.