Isle residents gave their all to Petwalk

We want to offer this letter of thanks to the thousands of community members who helped make the Humane Society's PetWalk 2003 such a wonderful success.

More than 2,300 animal lovers walked around Magic Island and Ala Moana Park on June 22, and thousands more supported them with donations. More people attended and more money was raised at this PetWalk (almost $75,000) than ever before, and that clearly is a statement about the caring people of Hawaii and their commitment to make sure that Oahu's homeless, lost and abused animals are cared for and sheltered.

On behalf of all the animals who cannot voice their thanks, mahalo to you all.

Pamela Burns
President and CEO
Hawaiian Humane Society

Gays still must fight for equality in Hawaii

June has been a great month for bringing the equal protections assured by our U.S. and Hawaii state constitutions to Hawaii's and the nation's gay communities. For the first time, all gay people in the 50 states are assured a level of dignity through the constitutional right to privacy.

Many people erroneously believe gays have civil rights equal to non-gays. The editorial "Homosexuals deserve dignity awarded by the court" (Star-Bulletin, June 29) was a good piece; it did, however, convey a significant error about the real civil rights of Hawaii's gay community. It said that we had laws prohibiting discrimination based upon sexual orientation in housing and public accommodations. Unfortunately, a legislative bill to add sexual orientation to these revised statutes has been introduced by isle Democrats but never passed by both houses. Gender identity, which has a separate definition in law, is not protected in areas of employment, housing or public accommodations.

While we are progressing in terms of actual laws and court verdicts, we have such situations as the City and County of Honolulu organizing and funding a "Family Day" on July 5. This city activity has led to a clear conspiracy with their co-sponsors, the Hawaii Christian Coalition, denying gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered families' groups from joining the parade. While a private group can remain bigoted and discriminatory, a publicly funded event cannot deny equal access and participation of all of its citizens.

Hawaii's gay community has a long way to go with Mayor Harris' administration.

William E. Woods
Executive director
Gay and Lesbian Education and Advocacy Foundation

Public hearing was a dog-and-pony show

How clever of Democratic legislators to hold a public forum Monday at 1:30 p.m., when the majority of the people whose money they want to spend were hard at work and not free to testify about Governor Lingle's vetoes ("Democrats seek a way past Lingle," Star-Bulletin, June 26). If they really wanted to hear from the public, they would schedule hearings in our communities at a time when working families can be present.

How disingenuous, too, for these legislators to point a finger at the governor when it is their relentless pandering to special interest groups -- all in the name of re-election -- that has created the financial hardship that exists today in Hawaii.

The state cannot spend money it does not have. That's not spin, that's reality. Congratulations to Lingle for letting the public know the truth.

Laura Brown
Mililani

By all means, avoid this useful plant

Mahalo for printing letters on the dangers of overusing or misusing marijuana. I accept the sincerity of most writers, if not their prohibitionist mentality. For those with similar mindsets I say fine, don't try marijuana and experience it for yourself.

Don't make a tincture, tea or poultice with the safe, natural herb used for thousands of years.

Don't invest in GW Pharmaceuticals of Great Britain, which finished its successful clinical trials of non-smoked cannabis remedies and have gone public on the London Stock Exchange.

Don't go to any health food store and buy delicious hempseed foods for their vegetarian protein or their essential fatty acid content and immune-building qualities, and don't strip the plaque out of your arteries with hempseed oil.

Don't wear soft, strong, organic hemp clothing or purchase tree-free hemp paper to help save the forests and assist the world's ecology. Don't fuel your car with clean-burning, sustainably grown hemp oil or methanol.

Whatever you do, don't enjoy the mystical, aphrodisiac qualities of cannabis smoke and shared breath with your lover ... but please, allow the rest of us the freedom of choice in the matter. Mahalo.

Roger Christie
The Hawai'i Cannabis Ministry
Hilo, Hawaii

Deduction for schools is money well spent

Emily Marr's letter to the editor, "Let's itemize education costs on each pay stub," (Star-Bulletin, June 22) caught my eye. The last paragraph says, in part, "I'm paying more than $500 a year for a 'free' education and, like many other citizens, I want results for my money."

Not everybody's paycheck is the same, so I will use her example. First, a "free and appropriate education," as required by federal law, is one that is supported by state taxes and without tuition. Everybody pays, regardless of whether they have children in school. So Marr's $500 is only a part of our larger tax base that supports her student in school.

Second, a portion of her $500 is needed for maintenance, utilities, and administrative costs, to mention just a few. After that, perhaps $0.55 a day makes it as far as the classroom (books, teachers' salaries, supplies).

That is much less than the taxpayer who sends his/her child to a private school and pays $10,000 or so a year tuition in addition to his/her taxes that support public education.

Public school teachers pay for each child's education, as well. Many spend more than $500 a year out of their own pockets, in addition to their tax contributions, to provide their students' classroom needs.

If you really want an accounting of your taxes, why don't you also ask for an accounting of fire, property and life protection provided by our unsung heroes in the local fire stations, emergency medical service units and police precincts? I am certain, when seen in black and white, the breakdown of all four will give you an appreciation for the bargain you are getting in return for your tax dollars.

Bernard Judson
Kapolei

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