Mike Gabbard | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Member of the Hawaii Senate | |
Assumed office November 2006 | |
Preceded by | Brian Kanno |
Constituency | 19th district (2007–2012) 20th district (2012–2022) 21st district (2022–present) |
Member of the Honolulu City Council from the 1st district | |
In office 2002–2004 | |
Preceded by | Rene Mansho |
Succeeded by | Todd Kala Apo |
Personal details | |
Born | Gerald Michael Gabbard January 15, 1948 Fagatogo, American Samoa |
Political party | Independent (1966–2004) Republican (2004–2007) Democratic (2007–present) |
Children | 5, including Tulsi |
Relatives | Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard |
Education | |
Website | Official website |
Gerald Michael Gabbard (born January 15, 1948) is an American 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 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.
His daughter, Tulsi Gabbard, 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.