Mike Gabbard

Gerald Michael Gabbard (born January 15, 1948) is a Samoan American politician, serving as a Democratic member of the Hawaii State Senate for District 20 since 2006. Gabbard rose to prominence for his successful effort to pass a 1998 amendment to the Constitution of Hawaii to give the state legislature "the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples" under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Gabbard, who was born in American Samoa, is the first person of Samoan descent to serve in the Hawaii Senate.

Mike Gabbard
Member of the Hawaii Senate
from the 20th district
Assumed office
2006
Personal details
Born
Gerald Michael Gabbard

(1948-01-15) January 15, 1948
Fagatogo, American Samoa
Political partyDemocratic (2007–present)
Other political
affiliations		Republican (2004-2007)
Spouse(s)Carol Porter
Children5, including Tulsi
Alma materSonoma State University (BA)
Oregon State University (M.Ed)[1]

Early life and education

Gabbard was born on January 15, 1948, in Fagatogo, American Samoa, one of eight children of Aknesis Agnes (Yandall) and Benjamin Harrison Gabbard, Jr, a Samoan of American ancestry. Mike Gabbard is of Samoan and European descent from both his maternal and paternal ancestry. He was a U.S. citizen from birth because of his father's U.S. citizenship.[lower-alpha 1][3] Gabbard lived in Hawaii as a child[4] and graduated from Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He studied at San Francisco State College[5] and obtained a degree in English from Sonoma State College in 1971.[4] He earned a master's degree in community college administration from Oregon State University.[6][4]

Early career

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Gabbard was a guidance counselor and later Assistant Dean of Instruction at American Samoa Community College.[7] He also worked as a head tennis pro at the Kuilima Hyatt Resort on the North Shore of O'ahu in the late 1970s.[4]

From 1983 to 1987, Gabbard worked as headmaster and teacher at Ponomauloa School in Wahiawa, Hawaii.[6][8]

From 1988 to 1992, Gabbard and his wife owned The Natural Deli, a vegetarian health food restaurant in Moiliili, Hawaii.[9] Gabbard closed the restaurant following picketing by activists after Gabbard said on his self-funded radio show, "Let's Talk Straight Hawaii," on K-108, that "If [two applicants] were both the same, then I would take the one that is not homosexual."[10]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gabbard and his wife worked for state Senator Rick Reed.[4]

In the early 1990s, Gabbard and his wife were listed as teachers for the Science of Identity Foundation.[4]

Gabbard and his wife later started Hawaiian Toffee Treasures, a candy company in Honolulu.[11][12]

Activism

LGBT rights opposition

Between 1991 and 1996, Gabbard founded the organization Stop Promoting Homosexuality Hawaii (renamed Stop Promoting Homosexuality International), Stop Promoting Homosexuality America, and the Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values.[13][14][15][16][17] Gabbard became well known for his advocacy for Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2 (1998). This amendment, approved by voters 69.2–28.6%,[18] gave the state legislature "the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples" under the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) signed by Bill Clinton in 1996.[19][4][20]

Other activism work

Shortly after 9/11, Gabbard founded Stand Up For America (SUFA), a non-profit educational organization.[21]

In 2007, Gabbard co-founded the Aloha Parenting Project (APP) with his wife Carol. APP is a grassroots non-profit organization that educates, supports, and helps parents raise children to become responsible, productive members of the community.[22]

Political career

Gabbard was elected to the Honolulu City Council in a nonpartisan race in 2002.[23]

In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the Second Congressional District of Hawaii in the United States House of Representatives, losing to state Representative Ed Case.[24]

On March 21, 2006, Gabbard announced his plans to run for the Hawaii State Senate in West Oahu's District 19, a seat then held by 14-year incumbent Senator Brian Kanno, who decided not to run for reelection.[25] On November 7, 2006, Gabbard defeated retired Honolulu police captain George Yamamoto by a 56% to 44% margin to represent the district in the Hawaii State Senate. Gabbard was sworn in on January 17, 2007.[26] Gabbard, who was born in American Samoa, became the first person of Samoan descent to serve in the Hawaii Senate.[27]

On August 30, 2007, Gabbard switched from the Republican Party of Hawaii to the Democratic Party of Hawaii.[28] His stated reason for doing so was that he believed that he could be more effective to his constituents as part of the majority party in the State Senate, where Democrats have long had a supermajority.[29]

On November 2, 2010, Gabbard was re-elected for a second term to the Hawaii State Senate after defeating Republican Aaron Bonar by a 74% to 26% margin.[30] He was the Chair of the Energy & Environment Committee from 2009 to 2015, culminating with his leadership on the passage of a first-in-the-nation law to require Hawaii utilities to get 100% of their electricity from clean, renewable energy sources by 2045.[31]

On November 6, 2012, Gabbard defeated Republican candidate Dean Capelouto, 72% to 28%, to represent the newly reapportioned Hawaii State Senate District 20.[30]

During the 2016 election cycle, Gabbard was unopposed and was re-elected to the Hawaii State Senate for a four-year term on November 8, 2016.[30]

Political positions

Gabbard opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions. He believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman.[32][33]

In 2016, while serving as the Chair of the Water, Land, and Agriculture Committee Gabbard authored a law banning the sale of any part or product of endangered species, such as elephant ivory.[34]

In 2018, he authored and helped pass legislation to implement a statewide ban on sunscreens that contain the controversial chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate.[35] Gabbard also advocated banning the pesticide chlorpyrifos; when the law was signed into effect, Hawaii became the first state in the nation to enact a chlorpyrifos ban.[36][37]

He is currently the Chair of the Agriculture and Environment Committee and is focused on increasing local food production, implementing his initiative to establish an industrial hemp pilot program under the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture, and protecting the environment.[38]

Personal life

A socially conservative Catholic, Gabbard serves as a lector at St. Jude Catholic Church in Makakilo, Hawaii.[1][39][40] His daughter, Tulsi Gabbard, is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Hawaii's Second District and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

See also

Notes
  1. "Section 301(e) Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for acquisition of U.S. citizenship by birth in outlying possessions to one U.S. citizen parent who has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year at any time prior to the birth of such person."[2]

References
  1. "Mike Gabbard's Biographical Information". www.mikegabbard.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  2. "U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual". fam.state.gov. June 27, 2018. Ch. 8 Passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad § 302.5 Acquisition by Birth in American Samoa and Swains Island. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  3. "About Mike Gabbard". www.mikegabbard.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  4. Bolante, Ronna (August 1, 2004). "Who is Mike Gabbard?". Honolulu Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  5. "Carol Porter engaged to G. Michael Gabbard". Playground Daily News. August 15, 1968. p. 15.
  6. Dunford, Bruce (May 23, 2004). "Case and Gabbard turn to grass roots in congressional race". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. A13.
  7. "Mike Gabbard's biography: professional experience". Vote Smart. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  8. https://www.mikegabbard.com/content/mikes-biographical-information
  9. Tanahara, Kris (February 10, 1992). "Moiliili restaurant picketed by gay rights group closes". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 21.
  11. Woletz, Bob (April 10, 2015). "A Love of Surfing Leads to a Proposal". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  12. Shapiro, Treena (May 21, 2014). "What Else Does Your Hawaii Lawmaker Do For a Living?". Honolulu Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  13. Tanahara, Kris M. (February 10, 1992). "Moiliili restaurant picketing by gay-rights group closes: They charge discrimination, he denies it". Newspapers.com. The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  14. Perkins, Ken Parish (March 30, 1999). "Gay character may be a test for WB". The Gazette at Newspapers.com. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  15. Gabbard, Mike (March 5, 1996). "Critics misjudge foes of gay marriage as haters". Honolulu Star Bulletin. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  16. Wiles, Greg; Aragon, Linda (February 29, 1996). "Anti-gay groups leery of anti-abortion activist". Newspapers.com. The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  17. Mike, Gabbard (July 28, 1997). "Alliance loves gays, wants to help them". Newspapers.com. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  18. General Election 1998, Hawaii Office of Elections, November 3, 1998, retrieved July 6, 2010
  19. "For better or worse". www.cnn.com. October 26, 1998. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  20. "Hawaii Legislative Power to Reserve Marriage, Question 2 (1998)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  21. "About Us". Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2012.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  22. "About Mike Gabbard". www.mikegabbard.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  23. Shapiro, Treena (November 6, 2002). "Ex-legislators predominate City Council". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. A-5.
  24. Dunford, Bruce (May 23, 2004). "Case and Gabbard turn to grass roots in congressional race". Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
  25. DePledge, Derrick (May 5, 2006). "Kanno won't seek re-election to Senate". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  26. "Gabbard Takes The Oath of Office at Hawaii State Senate". Press Releases. MikeGabbard.com. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  27. Sorensen, Sam (2008). "The Samoan Historical Calendar 1606–2008" (PDF). Office of the Governor American Samoa Government. p. 272. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  28. "DePledge, Derrick (August 31, 2007) "Sen. Gabbard bolts GOP for Democratic Party," Honolulu Star-Advertiser retrieved 2018-10-16".
  29. Au, Laurie (August 31, 2007), "Signing ceremony turns Gabbard into Democrat", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, retrieved April 28, 2009
  30. "Mike Gabbard". Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  31. Stuart H. Coleman (April 1, 2016). "The Politics of Power".
  32. Hamada, Rick (June 24, 2011). "5 Questions with NEWSmaker Senator Mike Gabbard". HawaiiReporter. YouTube. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  33. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/tulsi-gabbards-father-i-never-realized-how-much-trauma-i-put-her-through
  34. Marina Starleaf Riker (March 27, 2016). "Ivory merchants in Hawaii may be forced to close". Washington Post.
  35. "SB2571 SD2 HD2 CD1". July 6, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  36. "SB3095 SD1 HD1 CD1". June 14, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  37. "Hawaii law bans use of pesticide". Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. KHON2. June 13, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  38. "Legislative Members". www.capitol.hawaii.gov. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  39. Yilek, Caitlin (January 20, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard's father: 'I never realized how much trauma I put her through'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  40. Weig, Nick (January 16, 2019). "PROFILE: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard". KGAN. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
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