Chasing Rainbows

Back Story

Ashley earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology at UCLA, and serves as a Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

My Views

“I believe that people in a free society such as ours should be able to marry the person whom they choose, and that the benefits of marriage should be afforded to same sex couples the way they are afforded to opposite-sex couples.”

Back Story

Brian was born and raised in the country town of Wahiawa, Hawaii. He enjoys surfing, ping pong, and spending time with his wife and two boys. He “found Jesus” in college at the age of 19, of which he says, “my life has never been the same.”

My Views

“I believe we can reconcile a variety of view points if we all remain respectful, humble, and non-accusatory. We can disagree and still love one another.”

Back Story

“I was blessed with parents who valued education, hard work and service to the community,” John says. “Participation in a small Methodist church fostered a traditional faith that was central to the life of the family.”

My Views

“I understand this issue as one of providing equality for citizens who are being denied their basic civil rights and who are victims of discrimination. While those in opposition voice objections based on religious and moral arguments, my own support comes from faith in a God of love and a morality of compassion, integrity and fairness.”

Back Story

Whether in sacred worship, the classroom, committee meetings, youth group events, or his own pastoral work, Peter’s goal has been to study, teach, and help others find meaning in their lives through the traditions of Judaism.

My Views

“My view on Civil Unions and Same Sex Marriage is that if two people love each other and want to make a life commitment to each other and have a family together, I believe that God honors that. I also believe that a great many Christians take the references in the book of Leviticus about homosexuality out of context in these modern times.”

Back Story

Wayne is the founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii, a mega-church with over 14,500 in weekend attendance. New Hope is listed as one of the top ten most innovative churches in America, with Outreach Magazine listing it as one of the “top five churches to learn from.” Wayne is also a renowned author, and has recently released a new book, “Jesus Pure and Simple.”

My Views

“My view on homosexuality is that it is a sin. But, does that mean that we should not show people in the LGBT community love and respect? Of course not, because the Bible tells us that we all fall short of the glory of God.”

Back Story

Elwin is currently the pastor of New Hope Metro in Honolulu, Hawaii. From 2000 to 2011 he was the Executive Pastor of New Hope Oahu’s Honolulu Campus, a network of churches that averages approximately 14,500 in weekend attendance. He converted to Christianity in 1995, while sitting as a Judge for the State of Hawaii. “I experienced a radical transformation in my heart and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,” he says.

My Views

“My view of Civil Unions and Same Sex Marriage is that a very small minority of our society is trying to change laws that will potentially have a negative affect on the majority in America. Today, morality is all over the place and I believe that we in the church need to take a stand so that the church and God’s morality can have an impact on our society. The Church should have a say in the affairs of state.”

My Views

“Proponents of Gay Marriages speak of legal rights, family struggles, and love. My children, partner and I would like to live our lives openly and honestly. We do not want to be treated like second-class citizens. We deserve to be accepted by society where we don’t have to live a lie and in fear of harassment, ridicule, shame and prejudice.”

Back Story

“I grew up in a home without a father. I was always an extra sensitive child. I wasn’t good at sports and began to be rejected by the boys and spent more time with the girls growing up. Eventually, I began to believe that I was a woman trapped in a man’s body. My lifestyle led to illegal drug use and taking hormones to look like a woman. I became the classic transvestite. I was even considering becoming a transsexual and having surgery to become a woman. But poor choices in my friends and their influence led me further into illegal drug abuse. It eventually all led to my being incarcerated for quite a while in a prison.”

My Views

“In prison, I started to realize that I needed to turn my life around. So I began to read God’s Word, cut my hair, stopped taking female hormones and invited God to come into my life. When I was released from prison, I sought a lifestyle that seemed to be better for me. I became a strait man.”

Back Story

Napela, a former lesbian, was “gay and living the life for twenty years.” She met her husband at age 40 and was blessed with a daughter, Anela, at age 42. “My husband was previously divorced and has two grown adult children from his first marriage, Adam Jr. and Angelique. We now have a granddaughter, Mya,” she says.

My Views

“Any person who truly loves God desires to please Him knows in their heart that it is a sin against God to be attracted to the same sex. The Bible is very clear about homosexuality, it is defined as sin. But God is such a gentlemen that He does not force anyone to choose how they want to live, He knows what is best for us but he leaves the choice up to us.”

Back Story

Francis was born and raised in Hawaii. He has been the Senior Pastor of New Life Church Honolulu for over nine years, and refers to himself as “a minister in the marketplace.” He is the Chairman/CEO of Group 70 International, a major architecture/planning firm in Hawaii, and also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at the University of Hawaii.

My Views

“I am also the founder of and chair the Board of the Hawaii Family Forum, which is associated with Focus on the Family, a national conservative Christian group. We have stood strongly against Civil Unions in Hawaii because we believe that it will denigrate traditional marriage and the family.”

Back Story

Kaleo grew up in a very religious Jehovah’s Witness family. “[That] was a very hard time for me,” he says. “I did not receive the love and support from the Church like I should have.” Eventually he was baptized as a Witness, and was engaged to be married, “because it was the thing that I was supposed to do.” After “coming out of the closet” on his 21st birthday, he says, “I felt a huge relief, but it did come with consequences: I was disfellowshipped from the congregation, which caused me to lose my whole family. It has been over thirteen years since I have last seen them.”

My Views

“I hope one day Gay Marriage is allowed in all 50 States. I believe it is a civil rights issue, and the U.S. Constitution is the only document that will deliver that to us. In conclusion there is one thing I want to leave with you, we must all treat each other with dignity and respect and loving kindness, because that is what Jesus would want us to do.”

Back Story

“My family was lower middle-class, God-fearing, and unchurched,” Tom says. “In that pretty little Georgia mountain town where I was born and raised, it meant Southern Baptist. And in Southern Baptistdom there was no room for queers. There still isn’t.”

My Views

“I am a queer, and I have been blessed by God. I serve a remarkable church in Honolulu as the ‘open and out’ Worship and Arts Director. But I am especially blessed by my partner, Marcus. I am alive today because of his loving care of me. Two years ago I had a subarachnoid hemorrhage—a blood vessel close to the surface of my brain ruptured. Marcus’ care for me and devotion to my well-being is still talked about by everyone I know.”

Back Story

Marcus was formerly married and is the father of two children (both of them now adults). He also has one granddaughter. After twelve years of marriage he and his wife divorced, but they “are still close friends,” he says. He and partner Tom have been together since 1998.

My Views

“I know that in God’s eyes Tom and I are married. But I’m waiting for the State to make it right. I hope someday that the marriage already blessed by God becomes a reality that is blessed by the laws of the land.”