Judges deserve pay raise
on domestic violence

Citizens have repeatedly articulated their concern about education and crime, and the desire for government leadership to increase attention to these two issues. Attention can be defined as the development of strategies to improve efforts, as well as the commitment of resources.

There have been some gains made in the educational arena. There is still work to be done in the other arena as it relates to judges in the courtroom.

I have worked for many years with the courts with respect to domestic violence. This work, which affects the safety and recovery of families for whom violence is a problem, is unimaginably complex.

The questions to be resolved are often a matter of life and death. The rulings that must be made have to do with visitation, custody, safety and property. The judges are grappling with the pain of the parties, the "best interests of the children," the threats of harm.

We cannot afford mediocrity on the bench. But recruitment is not the only reason to give a raise to judges. A critical issue is the compensation judges deserve for their important service.

Nanci Kreidman
Executive Director
Domestic Violence Clearinghouse
and Legal Hotline

Here is bona fide proof
aloha spirit is lacking

We have witnessed several questionable facets of the aloha spirit. I refer specifically to the USS Missouri decision, the guilt by association admonition by a U.S. senator and the judicial ruling on a Con Con.

First, Senator Inouye proclaimed that "no one received preferential treatment" and that Hawaii won "fair and square" in the awarding of the Missouri to Hawaii. Yeah, right. The original decision, fair and square, awarded the "Mo" to Bremerton.

Then one and then another hastily and mysteriously concocted reversal of results to the basic criteria and, eureka, Hawaii wins!

Second, Senator Akaka admonished the Senate investigative committee "to ignore the temptation to assign guilt by association to Asian Americans" in the current fund-raising flap. Could we ask him, with the same aloha spirit, to admonish local residents not to employ the same stigma when making reference to the misdeeds of past or present "haole Americans?"

Third, there is only one way to ensure Judge Ezra's decision concerning a constitutional convention. Gary Rodrigues must be given the authority not only to approve even the federal court's composition but to decide what decision is acceptable to him and his cohorts. Then, having partaken of this new spirit of aloha, we can all join hands and sing "Aloha Oe."

Donald Barnhart

Alliance loves gays,
wants to help them

It's outrageous for Ken Scott (Letters, July 5) to accuse the Alliance for Traditional Marriage of teaching "young gays and lesbians to internalize outside prejudices." This is a lie.

The purpose of ATM-Hawaii is to preserve traditional marriage. Period. Homosexual activists and their supporters are trying to force society to accept homosexuality on an equal basis as heterosexuality via the legalization of "gay marriage."

We respectfully disagree with them. We consider homosexuality to be an aberrant sexual behavior that should not be encouraged or promoted.

We don't hate "gays." In fact, we love them and challenge them to abandon their false "gay identity" and walk away from a destructive lifestyle.

Recent surveys in six urban areas show approximately 40 percent of young homosexual men having unprotected sex. These men don't need more AIDS education. And they don't need homosexual activists pressuring them to come out of the closet to be "gay."

What they do need are loving, compassionate people who have the guts to tell them the truth: You are killing yourself with your sex organ. For God's sake, please stop.

Mike Gabbard
Chairman
Alliance for Traditional Marriage

Kealoha case teaches
lesson in road courtesy

The release of transcripts and other evidence in the trial of Gabriel Kealohas helped me realize there is much more to that case than I once thought. It has also caused me to reflect on my own "righteous anger" on the road.

Too many times in my 25 years of driving, I have been pushed to an angry reaction by careless or discourteous motorists. A few times I have even stopped on the side of the road and argued with the offenders.

A better solution would be for me to think of the faces of my wife, my daughter and my parents. There is no inconvenience on the road bad enough to risk putting my loved ones through the hell that the Miller and Kealoha families have been forced to face.

Maybe that moment of reflection will even help me remember some of the careless and inconsiderate things that I have done to anger other drivers.

I hope that the next time I'm tempted toward "road rage," I will be able to put it in perspective and avoid doing something I could end up regretting. Clearly, a patient and forgiving spirit can change lives.

Ken Armstrong
Kailua

---

Same-sex archive

---

Want to write a letter to the editor? Let all Star-Bulletin readers know what you think. Please keep your letter to about 200 words. You can send it by e-mail to letters@starbulletin.com or you can fill in the online form for a faster response. Or print it and mail it to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or fax it to: 523-8509. Always be sure to include your daytime phone number.