Resolutions Adopted

Whereas, The O‘ahu Democrats support legalization of marijuana by adults for personal use; and

Whereas, The longstanding prohibition on marijuana use has burdened law enforcement, the courts and the prison system; and

Whereas, The "War on Drugs" approach has impaired honest discussion about drug use and drug abuse; and

Whereas, The net effect of the criminalization of marijuana use has been detrimental to public health, safety and personal liberty; and

Whereas, The Democratic Party has already passed a resolution to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, and

Whereas, The 2013 Hawai‘i State legislature was unwilling to pass legislation to legalize marijuana, or even to decriminalize it; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats call upon the O‘ahu Democratic legislators to support legislation to legalize the personal use of marijuana by adults; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats urge the State Democratic Party to make passage of a marijuana legalization bill a priority for the 2014 legislative session; and, finally, be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all Democratic members of the State legislature.

Whereas, The O‘ahu Democrats support a decent, livable wage for all employees; and

Whereas, The state minimum wage has declined significantly in recent decades so that its purchasing power is much lower than it was years ago; and

Whereas, The Democratic Party was once proud of its strong advocacy for the rights of working people, with Democratic elected officials leading the way in enacting worker-friendly legislation; and

Whereas, Tens of thousands of Hawai‘i workers earn the minimum wage or close to it; and

Whereas, The Democratic Party has already passed a resolution to raise the minimum wage, and

Whereas, The 2013 Hawai‘i State legislature was unable to reach agreement on a bill set to hike the minimum wage to $9 over three years, and

Whereas, This failure will cause pain to thousands of Hawai‘i workers and their families; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats call upon the Democratic legislators to work during the interim to reach an agreement on passing a minimum wage hike at the next legislative session; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats urge the State Democratic Party to make passage of a minimum wage hike a top priority for the 2014 legislative session; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats call upon party members to rally to support such legislation in the 2014 session as well as press candidates seeking office as Democrats to pledge their support; and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all Democratic members of the State legislature.

Whereas, The O‘ahu County Democratic Party has continued to evolve over many years; and

Whereas, The O‘ahu County Democratic Party respects the rights of members and elected officials; and

Whereas, In the past few legislative sessions many resolutions and platform issues have been turned into legislative bills; and

Whereas, O‘ahu County Democratic Party members who attended these conventions and participated in rules, platform and resolutions to improve the O‘ahu County Democratic Party; and

Whereas, Many of these bills were not heard, voted or supported by elected Democratic legislators; and

Whereas, These legislators have felt they owe their allegiance to the voters who elected them to office; therefore, be it

Resolved, The O‘ahu County Democratic Party will promote legislation that has been supported and passed by the O‘ahu County Democratic Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support a transparent and democratic process by which all O‘ahu County Democratic platform resolutions which have been introduced as bills will be heard by Democratic legislators during relevant legislative sessions, and be it further

Resolved, The O‘ahu County Democratic Party will insist that all platform issues and resolutions that have passed the O‘ahu County Democratic Party Convention and have been introduced as bills at the Hawai‘i State Legislature will be heard and voted on by the Legislature; and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution will be transmitted to Officials of the O‘ahu County Democratic Party, members of the Hawai‘i State Legislature who represent people of the Island of O‘ahu and the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i

Whereas, The O‘ahu County Democrats support marriage equality as shown by the passage of the HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL RIGHTS & ECONOMIC JUSTICE plank in the 2012 Platform of the O‘ahu Country Democrats; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the O‘ahu County Democrats shall become a member of the coalition known as Hawaii United for Marriage, and be it further

Resolved, That the O‘ahu County Democrats shall expend no O‘ahu County Democratic funds as a member of Hawaii United for Marriage coalition; and be it further

Resolved, That the O‘ahu County Democrats shall post Hawaii United for Marriage events to their on-line calendar only when they are submitted in the required format and do not conflict with official O‘ahu County Democratic events; and be it further

Resolved, That the O‘ahu County Democrats require that the O‘ahu County Chair or the chair's designee, shall fill out the Hawaii United for Marriage coalition registration form with the above parameters; and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the O‘ahu County Chair, all elected O‘ahu County Democrats, as well as to the Honorable Governor of the State of Hawai‘i Neil Abercrombie and Lt. Governor Shan S. Tsutsui.

Whereas, The O‘ahu Democrats support the public financing of elections; and

Whereas, The effort to pass "Voter Owned Elections" bills has gone on for many years; and

Whereas, The Legislature in 2008 passed a bill for a pilot program of public financing of county council elections on the Big Island; and

Whereas, The experience on Hawai‘i County has demonstrated public financing can provide a helpful alternative for candidates to run viable campaigns, without having to spend inordinate time soliciting contributions from special interests; and

Whereas, The option to use public funding for elections has benefited both incumbents and challengers; and

Whereas, The 2013 session was close to passing a bill which would have provided the option of public financing for candidates to the state House, but failed to reach agreement on a final draft; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats call upon the Democratic legislators to work during the interim to reach an agreement on passing legislation to provide the public financing option for candidates to the state House as an expansion of the program; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats urge the State Democratic Party to make passage of public financing of elections a priority for the 2014 legislative session; and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all Democratic members of the State legislature.

Whereas, The Charter of the City and County of Honolulu currently requires a process which includes a General Plan and Development/Sustainable Communities Plans; and

Whereas, The current process is an exemplary community-based planning process; and

Whereas, The Honolulu City and County has adopted these plans starting in 1977; and

Whereas, These plans are periodically updated; and

Whereas, The plans and their updates are adopted subsequent to numerous opportunities for the public to participate in the planning process; and

Whereas, Planning and zoning programs are intended to protect the quality of life for all residents of a community; and

Whereas, Effective planning and zoning can add to the safety of residential areas as well as protect property values; and

Whereas, The zoning process is supported and implemented by the building permit process; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the O‘ahu County Democrats affirm their support of the Honolulu City and County's current process which includes a General Plan and Development/Sustainable Communities Plans; and be it further

Resolved, That the O‘ahu County Democrats affirm their support of the Honolulu City and County current zoning and building permit process.

Whereas, The O‘ahu Democrats support full marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples; and

Whereas, The 2013 Legislative session has just ended without passing legislation towards this end, despite the strong numerical dominance of Democratic legislators; and

Whereas, Hawai‘i was once at the forefront of the movement towards marriage equality but has fallen behind many other states; and

Whereas, Majority opinion in the United States and Hawai‘i has moved towards support for such marriage equality; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats call upon the Democratic legislators to shed their timidity and embrace full marriage equality through support for legislation to this purpose at the next legislative session; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats urge the State Democratic Party to make passage of marriage equality a top priority for the 2014 legislative session; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats call upon party members to rally to support such legislation in the 2014 session as well as press candidates seeking office as Democrats to pledge their support; and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all Democratic members of the State legislature.

Whereas, In 2008, the Hawai‘i State legislature passed a very strong Media Shield Law to protect journalists from having to reveal their sources or share their notes, except in the case of a serious crime; and

Whereas, This law was hailed by press advocates at the time as the most advanced such law in the country; and

Whereas, Concerns were raised at the time by some law enforcement officials that such a law might cripple criminal investigations, leading the legislature to insert a "sunset" clause by which the law would expire on June 30th, 2013 unless it were renewed; and

Whereas, The intervening five years have not shown the shield law has hampered the investigation or prosecution of any serious crimes; and

Whereas, The 2013 Hawai‘i State legislature was unable to reach agreement on the bill, with the House prepared to extend the law for two more years and the Senate wanting to significantly restrict the protections; and

Whereas, This failure to agree has led to the death of the bill and will result in the Media Shield Law expiring on June 30th, 2013; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats call upon the Democratic legislators to support a new, strong Media Shield Law, making it a priority at the next legislative session; and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all Democratic members of the State legislature.

Whereas, The State of Hawai‘i National Guard and its Home Land protection comes under the leadership of the State Adjutant General; and

Whereas, The Hawai‘i National Guard and its respective units have served proudly in Iraq and Afghanistan; and

Whereas, The 29th Infantry Brigade and its attached units namely 100th Bn./442nd Inf. have served proudly; and

Whereas, members of the Hawai‘i Air National Guard have served proudly; and

Whereas, Eleven members of 100th Bn./442nd Inf. have made the ultimate sacrifice in two engagements of active duty with the 29th Brigade; and now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the O‘ahu County Democrats support any person who has served in the Hawai‘i Army or Air National Guard, Army Reserve or affiliated units such as the 100th Bn./442nd Inf. and has graduated from the National War College (or equivalent) to be appointed State Adjutant General; and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all the Democratic members of the Hawai‘i State Legislature and the Resolutions Committee of the State Democratic Convention (2014).

Whereas, The U.S. Department of Justice believes that encouraging, and compliance with, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes good business sense because businesses can tap into a huge and growing market of people with disabilities and customers with disabilities can gain access to services, products, and employment opportunities; and

Whereas, Reaffirming the local, state and federal commitment to providing equal opportunity for and the full inclusion in society of, all individuals with disabilities and to encourage business, labor, religious, ethnic, educational, community service groups, and all segments of the civilian and military population to engage in the planning and execution of activities; and

Whereas, Proclaiming and observing a Disability History and Awareness Month will increase public awareness and respect for people with disabilities in Hawaii and enliven people's understanding and appreciation for the diversity of our country and for people with disabilities; and

Whereas, In 1945, Congress designated the first week in October as "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week" and in 1988, changed the name to "National Disability Employment Awareness Month" and directed that appropriate ceremonies take place to enlist public support for, and interest in, the employment of workers with disabilities who are otherwise qualified; and

Whereas, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which occurs every October, presents an opportunity for Hawaii to acknowledge the many workers with disabilities who strengthen and diversify our nation's workforce; and

Whereas, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was enacted to end disability-based discrimination, and to promote inclusion, full participation, economic self-sufficiency, and equality of opportunity for all people with disabilities; and

Whereas, Disability is absolutely under the umbrella of diversity, however many universities and diversity celebration groups do not recognize disability like they do race, gender, and sexual orientation; and

Whereas, Recognizing disability history and the need for disability employment awareness is a step towards eliminating the stereotypes, ignorance, and other barriers that hinder universal inclusion in the workplace and in our society; and, therefore, be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support any expansion by The Developmental Disabilities Division of the State of Hawai‘i that increases public awareness of the history of disabilities and The Department of Education (DOE) shall be encouraged to provide instruction in the history of disabilities, people with disabilities, and the disability rights movement during the observance of Disability History and Awareness Month and finally be it

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor, members of the Hawai‘i Senate and Hawai‘i House of Representatives.

Whereas, The Kingdom of Hawai‘i was an independent nation until 1893 when Queen Lili‘uokalani abdicated under duress; and

Whereas, The 2013 Hawai‘i Legislature supported the commemoration of twenty years since the passage of PL 103-150, known as the Apology Bill; and

Whereas, The Apology Bill supports the right of Ka Po‘e Hawai‘i to establish the nation and government they desire now that they are more cognizant of their Hawaiian culture, language, traditions and history; and

Whereas, Hawaiians need increased political understanding and the tools to decide which form of government to select: total assimilation by the United States; or an indigenous tribal Hawaiian Nation under Indian Law; or a nation totally independent of the United States; and

Whereas, All inhabitants of Hawai‘i want to learn how they will be affected by Hawaiian nationhood, the birthright of Ka Po‘e; now therefore be it

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support unbiased education on the three choices of Nationhood funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the advocate for Hawaiian; and be it further

Resolved, That the educational curriculum will include materials from previous sovereignty endeavors: Ka Lāhui, Sovereignty Advisory Council, Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council, Hui No‘eau, the Native Hawaiian Vote and current ‘ohana endeavors; and be it further

Resolved, That O‘ahu County Democrats support a transparent educational campaign, which will precede any plebiscite or vote; and finally be it,

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to all O‘ahu County Democrats that are members of the State of Hawai‘i Legislature, the Honorable Governor Neil Abercrombie, the Honorable Lt. Governor Shan S. Tsutsui, related State agencies and Hawai‘i's Congressional Delegation.