In November 2013, as marriage equality in Hawaiʻi was being discussed in a contentious special legislative session, State Senator Gilbert Kahele, a native Hawaiian from Miloli'i on the Island of Hawai'i, recalled that same-sex relationships between both men and women were not only accepted in Hawaiʻi but “part of the very fabric of Hawaiian history.”

His speech on the senate floor, linking traditional cultural values with the contemporary struggle for civil and human rights for all in Hawaiʻi was an iconic moment in the final, ultimately successful, vote.

Watch a video of Sen. Kahele’s speech above, and read the text of his remarks below.

Journal of the Senate of the Twenty- Seventh Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i

Second Special Session of 2013 Convened October 28, 2013 Adjourned November 12, 2013

Senator Gil Kahele rose to speak in strong support of SB1, known as the Hawaii Marriage Equality act of 2013

“Madam President, I rise to stand in strong support of this bill.

“‘Kekahi i Kekahi,’ I would hear my Tutu say. Love one another. It was a saying I remember from the early days of my barefoot youth growing up in the 1940s in the Hawaiian fishing village of Miloli‘i, South Kona.

“It was a simple time back then. The Territory of Hawai‘i, although robbed of its innocence on December 7, was still a place where the words ‘Aloha’ and ‘E Komo Mai’ were meant to describe an openness and a caring for everybody, no matter if you were a stranger or a non-Hawaiian. Miloli‘i and my tutus always welcomed everyone. It is a value I still carry with me to this day, 72 years later.

“As one of six members in this chamber of the only recognized indigenous, aboriginal, maoli people of this State, it is with great pride that I stand here today. It is because, as my colleague from Maui, Senator English, pointed out last week, same-sex relationships are part of the very fabric of the Hawaiian peoples, my ancestors, history: the Ai Kāne.

“Although not commonly known or taught in today’s history classes, the journals from Captain Cook’s Third Voyage include extensive eyewitness accounts of the Hawaiian people and their culture that described a social class of Ai Kāne, men who were attached to the court of the Ali‘i and High Chiefs who served as social, sexual, and political intermediaries. The Ai Kāne refers to relationships beyond the ‘Hoa’ or ‘Friends’ which binds people on intimate levels of love and companionship. These relationships were not only reserved for men but for women as well, as the word ‘Ai Kāne’ can be commonly found in the mo‘olelo of the goddess Pele.

“One legend tells that Pele is spelled by a hula and trapped in the spirit world. Pele’s sister Hi‘iaka asks her Ai Kāne Hopoe (her female friend) to surrender their last kiss before Hi‘iaka is sent on a mission to dance for her sister so that she can awaken. Many of Hawaii’s famous warriors had Ai Kāne as was the chief Umi who reigned from the legacy of his father Liloa. These concubines of the Ali‘i were said to have laid with Chief Umi to gain the trust between his closest warriors to ensure their alliance in war.

“Even Kamehameha the Great, who united these islands, had Ai Kāne. This was an accepted part of ancient Hawaiian society.

“Only after western contact, the arrival of the missionaries in 1820, and the fall of the Kāpu system did the Ai Kāne become an outcast in their own land. Many of our old customs, traditions, and culture were abolished as was our language and our hula.

“As the Hawaiian renaissance of the 1970s gave birth to a rediscovery of our native cultural heritage, language, and dance, an interestingly overlooked component of Hawaiian culture, heavily influenced by outside cultures, has degraded the importance and meaning of sex and more specifically same-sex relationships, in the history and culture of Hawai‘i.

“For example, calling someone ‘Mahu’ to a local was like calling someone from the mainland a ‘Haole.’ “If this renaissance is to be fully honest with its past, it’s important to recognize all the aspects of the native indigenous peoples’ history.

“On August 21, 1959, Hawai‘i became the 50th state of the United States of America. Our Country was only 183 years old, slavery had been abolished by the 13th Amendment, women were given the right to vote but the seeds of racial inequality were brewing in the South. The lodge stone of the American dream, written by our founding fathers on the Declaration meant to stand the test of time was about to be tested.

“ ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.’

“In 1962 as a young United States Marine I got an assignment for training in the South. My destination was the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. After a brief stop in St. Louis to visit my brother I continued through the southern states, passing through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. As a young Hawaiian man passing through the South the first thing I noticed was the black man was treated differently than the white man. Restaurants, bathrooms, and waiting areas at the bus terminals were all segregated. Signs that read ‘Whites Only’ were commonplace and I didn’t know at the time if that also included me. At those stops, I looked the other way and continued on to North Carolina, but that experience coming from Hawaii, the land of Aloha, had a profound effect on the way I viewed and treated others especially those of minority.

“At a very early age, I realized that everyone in this country has a right to be treated fairly, to be given equal opportunities, equal rights, to treat others the way you would want to be treated, with dignity, respect, and humility. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the sacrifices of Martin Luther King, Jr., President John F. Kennedy, his brother Senator Robert Kennedy, just to name a few, paved the way for so many others, myself included.

“It is my belief that the issue before this chamber, to grant marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples is of equal magnitude. It is a decision that rests in our hands, the elected representatives of this great State, as has been many other issues that have come before previous legislatures in the past. It is cemented by the United States Supreme Court decision this summer that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, that you cannot discriminate against same-sex couples and deny them the rights and benefits afforded to heterosexual couples.

“In this chamber there are 24 Democrats and 1 Republican. And although we don’t agree on everything, I respect the beliefs and values of each member of this Senate, including my colleague from Hawai‘i Kai, even though I may at times disagree with your various positions. However, my return to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Democratic National Convention last year highlighted what it means to me to be a Democrat. As a personal side note, who would have thought – I didn’t think at the time when I was passing through Charlotte – that 50 years later I would be sitting less than 50 feet away from the President of the United States of America, our nation’s first African American President, Barack Obama, a true keiki o ka ‘āina who was born within the confines of Kapi‘olani Hospital. I distinctly recall our First Lady Michelle Obama saying, ‘If you want to get to know my husband, go to Hawai‘i.’ As Democrats we are guided by our national platform which in 2012 was titled ‘Moving America Forward.’ In that platform is a section on ‘Protecting Rights and Freedoms’ and under ‘Civil Rights’ it says, ‘We believe in an America where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody plays by the same rules. At the core of the Democratic Party is the principle that no one should face discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status. We support the right of all families, to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.’ As Democrats, this is our platform. This is our guide, our compass. We should strive to uphold this even though it may at times conflict with our moral compass and values. Senators, this vote that each and every one of us is about to take, I truly believe, will be written in the history books as one of the most important votes in this legislative chamber’s history.

“Senators, the time has come. It is time that the ‘Aloha State’ joins the other 14 States in this union on its path to marriage equality. And their time has come. What began with Justice Levinson and the Hawai‘i State Supreme Court’s ruling 20 years ago that reverberated through our country has come full circle today.

“Kekahi I Kekahi. It is time we have ‘Aloha’ for all. Mahalo.”

Read the full November 12, 2013 floor debate before the final vote, starting on Page 41 HERE.