Gay civil unions bring no harm

We have been a committed gay couple for 16 years, yet we are not allowed to have the same rights as our married straight neighbors. We own a wedding company on Maui and have married more than 4,000 straight couples since 1994.

It is quite ironic that we are ordained and licensed to marry couples but are not allowed the same privilege for ourselves. We have married couples that have been married three, four and even five times previously. We have married couples that we suspected of being inebriated and even worse. The opposition says gay civil unions are unnatural, against God's will, and would diminish traditional marriage.

The facts are states such as Massachusetts that legally recognize gay marriage have a lower divorce rate. Canada has gay marriage, and its divorce rate is also lower than the U.S. Even countries like South Africa have gay marriage.

The opponents of this bill slant and distort the facts. Remember, Hawaii was the first state in the county to allow interracial marriages in 1964, and we should honor our Constitution and heritage and allow gay civil unions. President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both stated they are in favor of civil unions.

Bumper sticker was on the mark

Years ago there was a popular bumper sticker in the islands that said, “;Just another crappy day in paradise”; (it actually used a more vulgar adjective than “;crappy”;).

At the time, I thought it was a cute, tongue-in-cheek saying. But as I look around today, this saying, unfortunately, seems to be a much more applicable description of life here.

According to various studies and surveys recently, we lead the nation in auto thefts per capita, have some of the worst roads and traffic, some of the worst drivers (ever watch them try to merge?), among the highest costs and taxes, rank among the lowest for education (while our teachers' union would rather cut school days than planning days), have elected officials who care more about their own gains than those of their constituents (e.g., leave one office early to run for another, leaving us with the bills, not holding public hearings on the medical reform bill like other state reps did, etc.), and continue to shuffle the homeless around from one park or beach to another instead of addressing the issue.

So unfortunately, it is becoming “;just another crappy day in paradise.”;

Battle prisoners are not criminals

Terrorists captured during combat are not criminals, but are prisoners of war. They are fanatics dedicated to the destruction of our country and have no regard for our values and ideals. The masterminds of the Christmas Day bombing were released from Guantanamo, failed a Saudi

re-education camp and

attempted to kill hundreds of innocent passengers.

The possible release of nearly 100 more detainees to Yemen will provide the cadre for future attacks. Despite the assurances from the Yemeni government, can our government guarantee safety of the American people?

President Barack Obama made a campaign promise to close Guantanamo, but given the recent attacks, I hope he will seriously reconsider this decision. It is better to break a campaign promise than lose one innocent life.

While we all wish we were not at war, the war on terrorism is real. Reading Miranda rights to a captured enemy does not promote democracy, but sends mixed signals that America is soft and is losing the will to win.

Fireworks noise was nightmare

This is in response to Bill Wong's letter of Jan. 7 (”;Fireworks show draws support,”; Star-Bulletin). Mr. Wong, we're happy that you experienced the best fireworks show from your yard. It must have been awesome! All those legal and illegal fireworks, not to mention all those bombs. Wish we were there. Our experience was very different from yours.

We - my wife, dog and I - brought in the New Year huddled in our bedroom, the only room with an air conditioner. Our normal neighborhood turned into a war zone. Fireworks and heavy-duty homemade bombs shook our walls and rattled our windows. The smoke was deadly and the noise was deafening. This was not a one-night incident. It started from Thanksgiving Day and didn't end until Jan. 4.

Hike excise tax to solve crisis

The Lingle administration has failed horribly in its approach to the fiscal crisis and continues to wreak havoc on our people and our schools. It has targeted public employees and teachers, created furloughs, undermined education and mishandled negotiations.

Our legislators have been silent for too long on alternative measures to overcome the fiscal shortfall. They have allowed Lingle and her departments to

lay off employees, establish furloughs, drastically slash the education budgets for the public schools and University of Hawaii, and cut back vital programs for the poor and those needing health care and social services. This is gross negligence.

The legislators come back into session tomorrow. My earnest hope is that they act quickly to hike the excise tax by 1 to 2 percentage points for a two-year duration (with a drop-dead clause in the bill). This would be preferable to letting Lingle destroy education and health and social services. It would not be good policy to let the state get all the hotel room tax revenues, including the counties' share, thus compelling the counties to levy sales taxes of up to 5 percent on their citizens.