A Hawaiian lawmaker was disinvited from a parade honoring a former native Hawaiian leader and prince after he questioned a middle school's display of a pride flag in support of LGBTQ+ people.
Kūhiō Lewis, the chairperson of the Prince Kūhiō Parade, told Republican state Rep. Elijah Pierick that he was no longer welcome at the event in a letter Friday.
The decision followed a video to Pierick's Instagram, where he discussed his trip to Ewa Makai Middle School where he saw an "LGBTQ flag" in multiple locations throughout the school, which he said "represents and promotes the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit, + lifestyle."
"As your public servant, I believe that you have the right to know what is being taught and endorsed to the next generation in your local schools," he wrote on Instagram. "Is this flag promoting a lifestyle that you want to convey to the middle school students in your community?"
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"If you have a thought or concern about this, I encourage and invite you to kindly reach out to principal Kim Sanders," he wrote, along with her contact info. "She values your thoughts and wants to be part of the community!"
Lewis said in a statement that the LGBTQ+ and "mahu" communities, which includes people with dual male and female spirits and a mixture of gender traits, are an essential part of the Hawaiian culture that should be cherished, the Associated Press reported.
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"Rep. Pierick’s commentary is hurtful, not aligned to the cultural values that we work to promote, and will serve as a distraction to honoring a true leader of Hawaii, Prince Kūhiō," Lewis said.
Piereck said he appreciated "the perspective of the private entity that leads the parade and I honor their decision in who they invite to be in the parade."
Republican state Sen. Kurt Fevella, whose district includes the school, posted a video on Facebook asking Pierick to apologize, calling on his constituents to vote Pierick out. He said students need to feel safe because teenagers who don't contemplate suicide and abuse drugs and alcohol.
"We are losing our children, Facebook fam, because we get people like that," Fevella said. "We get people like that judging our community."
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Pierick said Fevella "stands on the foundation of the First Amendment of freedom of speech," advocating for "his ability to speak freely."
"I encourage the community of Ewa Beach to watch original video, and make the conclusion for themselves of what they think the message is conveying," Pierick added.
The parade was held Saturday and is an annual gathering that celebrates the life and legacy of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole, according to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, which organized and financially supported the parade. March 26 is a state holiday the prince's in his honor, which will be observed on Monday this year.
Prince Kalaniana'ole went into self-imposed exile after the U.S.-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, but he returned to Hawaii in 1901 where he became a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives in Congress until his death in 1922, according to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. He is credited with leading the charge to enact a law that set aside 200,000 acres of land for Native Hawaiians.
