Independence Day is the biggest holiday in America. It celebrates the freedom the people are given to live their lives however they want. All media across the country emphasize on the fact how free America is, and that you can live your life in America the way you want and to be whoever you want to be. For instance, the head title in the Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii’s main newspaper) on 4th of July was “On being American” and under it, there were quotes of several people telling us what it means for them to be an American. Here is a quick sample of what they said: “I have lived abroad in different countries for various lengths of time, and I can comfortably say that there is a way of life... [Read more]
It is the gay month! And like it or not you will see many gay events happening in June in Hawaii and in many other places in the world. Yesterday in Honolulu gays and lesbians celebrated the annual event with a pride parade in the morning and a festival afterwards. The gay and lesbian festival took place at the McCoy Pavilion and began at 11:30 am. Many couples gathered and celebrate with their fellows. There was music, drinks, food and the police was there as well. The reason the police was there was to make sure that nobody disturbs the gay festivities due to the fact that some people don’t like gays. Luckily there was not any accident because Honolulu and Hawaii are more open-minded than... [Read more]
Gay discrimination in the media in Hawaii - gays and lesbians don’t have a voice and are not properly represented About three weeks ago I wrote a letter to the editor to the Honolulu Advertiser. I commented the recent debate about same-sex marriage. Now that California, the second state in the United States, legalized it, it is again being debated more nationwide. My article was about what these gay marriages in California and other same-sex civil unions, such as the one in Hawaii, mean to same-sex binational couples in the United States, binational meaning one partner is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and the other one is from a foreign country. Since none of these gay marriages... [Read more]
It is a tradition each year in June in Honolulu, Hawaii gays and lesbians to get together and celebrate the Honolulu Pride Festival. This morning at 9am there was the gay Pride Parade starting from from Ala Moana Beach Park and going all the way to Kapiolani Park in Waikiki. On the sidewalks you could see many gay and lesbians fellows, as well as relatives and friends of gay couples. Of course there were some curious tourists who did not know about the parade and what was going on but by seeing the Rainbow flags they could easily figure it out. Many of the participants at the parade had wallpapers expressing their thoughts regarding equal marriage rights. Other just had fun dancing, dressed in... [Read more]
Gay marriage - Same-sex marriage debated in Hawaii and across the United States and what it means to binational same-sex couples Gay marriage news are currently debated in Hawaii and the rest of the United States, mainly because California is now allowing it, the second state in the United States after Massachusetts. However, for same-sex binational couples the issue is much broader because none of these same-sex marriages are recognized by the federal government. This fact may be inconvenient or disappointing for gay and lesbian couples who are both U.S. citizens or permanent residents. But for binational same-sex couples it is devastating because a foreign partner can’t be sponsored for permanent... [Read more]
