With Hawaii’s citizens left reeling by the Hawaii SuperFerry’s forced shutdown, many may have missed some profound statements in the Hawaii Supreme Court’s recent decision. When it comes to both the Akaka Bill and the Supreme Court Public Lands case Associate Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court James Duffy hit the nail on the head when he wrote in the Court’s opinion:

"This constitutional limitation on legislative power was enacted by the framers of our Constitution, and approved by the people, to protect against the dangers inherent in special legislation intended to favor a specific individual, class, or entity. Indeed, this constitutional prohibition of special legislation intended to favor a specific individual, class, or entity is the corollary of the constitutional prohibition against the denial of equal protection rights when the government unreasonably discriminates against a person, class, or entity.

That our Constitution prohibits laws which provide disparate treatment intended to favor a specific individual, class, or entity or to discriminate against a specific individual, class, or entity is a fundamental principle of the democratic nature of our government: equal rights and treatment for all persons under the law."

GIR sat down with two longtime champions of liberty, Aloha For All founders Bill and Sandra Burgess, to discuss the case. "The SuperFerry decision is really a silver lining and is good news for those who believe aloha is for everyone," said Mr. Burgess. "Surely it was a disappointment to the investors and to all of us to lose the convenience of taking our cars with us interisland. But deep in the Hawaii Supreme Court’s unanimous 113-page decision was the wonderful paragraph you cite. It seems the State Supreme Court has had an epiphany!"

Mr. Burgess said every Hawaiian citizen would do well to reflect on what Justice Duffy has said--that our Constitution prohibits disparate treatment intended to favor or discriminate against a specific class. In other words, it requires equal rights and treatment for all persons before the law. "Under unremitting criticism of its January 31, 2008 ceded lands decision (blatantly favoring the class of "Native Hawaiians" over all others) and apparently about to be reversed by the United States Supreme Court, the Hawaii court has suddenly seen the light," said Burgess. "Now it gets it. Yes, right here in Hawaii, each and every citizen is entitled to the equal protection of the laws and equal privileges and immunities under the laws. Applying that principle, the issues that divide us, such as the Akaka Bill, OHA laws and HHCA (but allowing existing homesteaders to acquire the fee) must be ended. Then we all, Native Hawaiians fully included, can pull together to make Hawaii the best place in the world to live," he said.

So now that the Hawaii Supreme Court has finally reinforced what King Kamehameha III proclaimed in 1853—"God has made of one blood all races of people, to dwell upon this Earth in unity and blessedness"—I too hope we can get back to working together to make Hawaii a better place for all its citizens, no matter the color of their skin or when their ancestors arrived in the islands.

-GIR-

Director of Communications Tom McAuliffe is the former Editor of Government Video Magazine and worked at the Hawaii State Legislature
during the last session.