Hawai’i is often thought of as the state that put in motion our modern march toward marriage equality. Even so, the Aloha State didn’t extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples until last year. But it did so through a dramatic campaign that ended with a special legislative session and the passage of SB-1 — the Hawai’i Marriage Equality Act.

This battle for marriage equality was unlike many we have seen — 5,000 people testified, the majority of whom were in opposition to marriage for same-sex couples. This opposition led to an emotional, challenging campaign for LGBT people in Hawai’i and Federation member organization, Equality Hawai’i.

The Impact of the Opposition
The opposition to marriage equality in Hawai’i was loud, powerful, and harsh. They launched dirty and personal attacks on proponents of the freedom to marry, and they used lies and scare tactics in an attempt to erode support.

According to Gigi Lee, Co-Chair of the Board at Equality Hawai’i:

“It’s important to acknowledge that the things said there were extremely hurtful, harmful and very personally directed to the people of our community, and some are still (and will be for some time) healing from all the hatred that was thrown at them. Many families and friendships were broken.”

Signs and chants outside the Capitol, hours and hours of negative testimony inside the Capitol. In a rare occurrence, supporters of equality were outnumbered.

Staying Positive & Coming Together
Hawai’i United for Marriage, of which Equality Hawai’i was a part, stayed focused on winning the hearts and minds of legislators and their neighbors. They countered the opposition with a true grassroots, people-powered campaign.

The emotional campaign that was playing out at the Capitol and in the media forced those who may have been undecided about marriage equality to choose a side, as they saw their friends, neighbors, and family members being so harshly attacked.

Gigi spoke of the good that came out of the negative testimonies, as LGBT people came together with allied Hawai’ian’s to combat a common opponent.

“This helped our cause and spurred many to 1) testify in support or change their testimony to a more empowering statement of support, and 2) come show their support at the gatherings and inviting community members to reach out to their legislators in whatever ways possible. It spurred more people to become engaged and directly involved and — I feel — culminated in more people coming together.”

And Gigi was right. The first day at the Capitol, only a few supporters were there to show their support. By the last day of the Special Session, hundreds of supporters gathered, wearing rainbow leis and waving flags, playing music and making new connections while the opposition maintained a bitter attitude.

“We had unprecedented visibility at the Capitol, and each day that the testimonies continued, we saw more and more people coming out en masse to stand up to the opposition and detractors. Instead of tearing us apart with their vitriol, they helped to unify and mobilize an entire community!”

One ‘Ohana
In the end, we all know that Hawai’i lawmakers extended the freedom to marry to all loving, committed couples in the state — despite the opposition.

And now, like many others who were engaged in the campaign, Gigi can see just how successful the Hawai’i United for Marriage campaign was. Not only did they win marriage for all families, they came together as one ‘ohana, one family:

“Different LGBT groups stood together — Native Hawai’ians spoke up about the connection of this struggle to their ancestors and roots. In those days and weeks at the Capitol, in those days and weeks leading up to the passing of SB-1 (the Marriage Equality Act), we were finally all ‘Ohana.”

Winning marriage is never easy. Winning while under attack from harsh and hurtful opposition is even harder. But as Equality Hawai’i and Hawai’i United have shown us all, when we stand together, we’re stronger, and we can win.