Gerald Michael Gabbard (born January 15, 1948) is a

Samoan American Samoan Americans are Americans of Samoan origin, including those who emigrated from the Independent State of Samoa or American Samoa to the United States. Samoan Americans are Pacific Islanders in the United States Census, and are the second l ...

politician, serving as the Hawaii State Senator for District 21 from the Democratic party, since 2006. Gabbard rose to prominence for efforts to prevent same-sex marriage in Hawai'i by passing a 1998 amendment to the

Constitution of Hawaii The Constitution of the State of Hawaii ( haw, Kumukānāwai o Hawaiʻi) refers to various legal documents throughout the history of the Hawaiian Islands that defined the fundamental principles of authority and governance within its sphere of juri ...

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 American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

, is the first person of Samoan descent to serve in the Hawaii Senate.

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. Gabbard lived in Hawaii as a child and graduated from

Choctawhatchee High School Choctawhatchee High School is a high school in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It is the only school in Okaloosa County to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. It also offers the Advanced Placement Program and honors classes, AFJR ...

Fort Walton Beach, Florida Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,922, up from 19,507 in 2010. It is the principal city of the Fort Walton Beach− Crestview− Destin Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. He studied at and obtained a degree in English from Sonoma State College in 1971. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in community college administration from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

Early career

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Gabbard taught high school English in American Samoa and was a guidance counselor and later Assistant Dean of Instruction, and Dean of Adult and Community Education at

American Samoa Community College American Samoa Community College (ASCC) is a public land-grant community college in the village of Mapusaga, American Samoa. Only legal residents of American Samoa who have graduated from high school or obtained a General Equivalency Diploma a ...

. He also worked as a head tennis pro at the Kuilima Hyatt Resort on the North Shore of

O'ahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

in the mid 1970s. From 1983 to 1987, Gabbard worked as headmaster and teacher at Ponomauloa School in

Wahiawa, Hawaii Wahiawa ( haw, Wahiawā, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawa District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise the ...

. From 1988 to 1992, Gabbard and his wife owned The Natural Deli, a vegetarian health food restaurant in

Moiliili, Hawaii Mōʻiliʻili, Hawaii is a neighborhood of Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Its name means “pebble lizard” in Hawaiian. The commercial district at South King Street and University Avenue in Moiliili ...

. 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 wo applicantswere both the same, then I would take the one that is not homosexual.” In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gabbard and his wife worked for

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Rick Reed. In the early 1990s, Gabbard and his wife were listed as teachers for the

Science of Identity Foundation The Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) is a Hindu Gaudiya Vaishnavite Yoga religious organization based in Hawaii, United States, founded by Chris Butler (also known by his Vaishnavite name Siddhaswarupananda Goswami) in 1977. Gabbard and his wife later started Hawaiian Toffee Treasures, a candy company in Honolulu.

Activism

Opposition to LGBT rights

Between 1991 and 1996, Gabbard founded the organizations Stop Promoting Homosexuality Hawaii (renamed Stop Promoting Homosexuality International), Stop Promoting Homosexuality America, and the Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values. Gabbard became well-known for his advocacy for

Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2 (1998) Constitutional Amendment 2 of 1998 amended the Constitution of Hawaii, granting the state legislature the power to prevent Same-sex marriage in the United States, same-sex marriage from being conducted or recognized in Hawaii. Amendment 2 was the ...

. This amendment, approved by voters 69.2%–28.6%, 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.

Other activism

Shortly after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, Gabbard founded Stand Up For America (SUFA), a non-profit educational organization. In 2007, Gabbard co-founded the non-profit Aloha Parenting Project (APP) with his wife Carol.

Political career

Gabbard was elected to the

Honolulu City Council Honolulu City Council is the legislature of the City and County of Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawai'i, the fiftieth state in the United States. The City and County of Honolulu is a municipal corporation that manages government asp ...

in a nonpartisan race in 2002. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the

Second Congressional District of Hawaii The U.S. state of Hawaii is divided into two congressional districts for representation in the United States House of Representatives. Before statehood, the Territory of Hawaii was represented by a non-voting delegate. From statehood until 1963, H ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

, losing to

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...

Ed Case Edward Espenett Case (born September 27, 1952) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician serving as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district, which covers the urban core of Honolulu. He represented the 2nd distric ...

. On March 21, 2006, Gabbard announced his plans to run for the

Hawaii State Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the member ...

in West Oahu's District 19, after 14-year incumbent Senator Brian Kanno decided not to run for reelection. On November 7, 2006, Gabbard defeated retired Honolulu police captain George Yamamoto by a 56% to 44% margin, to represent the district in the

. Gabbard was sworn in on January 17, 2007. Gabbard, who was born in

, became the first person of Samoan descent to serve in the Hawaii Senate. On August 30, 2007, Gabbard switched from the

Republican Party of Hawaii The Hawaii Republican Party ( haw, ʻAoʻao Lepupalika o Hawaiʻi) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (GOP) in Hawaii, headquartered in Honolulu. The party was initially strong during Hawaii's territorial days, but following statehood the ...

to the

Democratic Party of Hawaii The Democratic Party of Hawaii ( haw, ʻAoʻao Demokalaka o Hawaiʻi) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Hawaii. The party is a centralized organization established to promote the party platform as drafted in convention b ...

. 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 A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...

. 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. Gabbard served as the Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee from 2009 to 2015, which culminated 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. On November 6, 2012, Gabbard defeated Republican candidate Dean Capelouto, 72% to 28%, to represent the newly reapportioned Hawaii State Senate District 20. 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.

Political positions

Gabbard opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions. He believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman. In 2016, while serving as the Chair of the Water, Land, and Agriculture Committee, Gabbard authored a bill banning the sale of parts and products of

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invas ...

. In 2018, Gabbard authored legislation that enacted a statewide ban on sunscreens that contained the controversial chemicals

oxybenzone Oxybenzone or benzophenone-3 or BP-3 (trade names Milestab 9, Eusolex 4360, Escalol 567, KAHSCREEN BZ-3) is an organic compound. It is a pale-yellow solid that is readily soluble in most organic solvents. Oxybenzone belongs to the class of aroma ...

and

octinoxate Octyl methoxycinnamate or ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (INCI) or octinoxate (United States Adopted Name, USAN), trade names Eusolex 2292 and Uvinul MC80, is an organic compound that is an ingredient in some sunscreens and lip balms. It is an este ...

. The bill also included a ban on the pesticide

chlorpyrifos Chlorpyrifos (CPS), also known as Chlorpyrifos ethyl, is an organophosphate pesticide that has been used on crops, animals, and buildings, and in other settings, to kill several pests, including insects and worms. It acts on the nervous systems ...

, and upon enactment, Hawaii became the first state to ban the substance. In 2021, Gabbard reintroduced the Hawaii Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act, which passed the Hawaii State Legislature and would make Hawaii the sixth state to ban cosmetic

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...

, after having previously introduced the bill in 2018. He received

Cruelty Free International Cruelty Free International is an animal protection and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal experiments. They organise certification of cruelty-free products which are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny. It was ...

's May 2021 award for Legislator of the Month. He also introduced and passed SCR44, a resolution which made Hawaii the first state to declare a " climate emergency". He is currently the Chair of the Agriculture and Environment Committee.

Personal life

Mike and his wife, Carol Porter, were married on December 27, 1968 in

East Grand Rapids East Grand Rapids is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,694. The city is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is surrounded by Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Township, bu ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Porter was elected to and served on the Hawaii State Board of Education from 2000–2004. A socially-conservative

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Gabbard serves as a

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...

at St. Jude Catholic Church in Makakilo, Hawaii. His daughter,

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the fir ...

, served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Hawaii's second congressional district from 2013 to 2021 and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Notes

References

External links

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabbard, Mike 1948 births American people of Samoan descent American Roman Catholics American anti-same-sex-marriage activists Republican Party Hawaii state senators Honolulu City Council members Living people Oregon State University alumni American Samoan politicians Hawaii Independents 21st-century American politicians Choctawhatchee High School alumni Schoolteachers from Hawaii Democratic Party Hawaii state senators