Aloha, people of Hawaii — the land of justice and righteousness! Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono.

I want to thank you, for sharing one of your state’s greatest treasures: your lieutenant governor, former attorney general, and my friend, Doug Chin.

Doug’s passion for justice and his steadfast advocacy for the well-being of all people is what sets him apart as a leader. It is just these traits that America needs at the national level in Congress, if we have any hope of making meaningful change in Washington, D.C.

As a colleague, and a fellow member of NAAG, the National Association of Attorneys’ General, I have worked closely with Doug over the years. Doug and I were back-to-back chairs of CWAG, the bipartisan Council of Western Attorneys General. Here are a few examples of his important work as chair of the Western Attorneys General:

Doug showed us the aloha spirit last March, when he welcomed the Conference of Western Attorneys General for his chair’s initiative in Honolulu.

Doug shared with us his special initiative on interisland issues and brought together attorneys general from nearly every territory and island. Doug’s passion for inclusion come naturally to him, and it is what makes him an ideal representative of the great state of Hawaii in Washington.

Courtesy

While I was in Honolulu, Doug also invited me join him for the arguments in the travel ban case that his office filed against the president’s discriminatory Muslim ban. I was honored to join Doug at a press conference after the federal court’s ruling granting a landmark nationwide injunction that protected immigrants and freezing the president’s second attempt at a travel ban. Doug’s bold leadership in that case on behalf of the people of Hawaii ultimately helped immigrants, refugees and their families all across America.

And Doug’s appeal to the 9th Circuit that helped clarify what relatives could be considered exempt from the ban as he passionately fought to keep immigrant and refugee families together. As he explained to me, in Hawaii, and in many immigrant communities, grandparents and aunts and uncles are an integral part of the nuclear family, sometimes raising grandchildren, nieces and nephews and building the important fabric of our lives. The rigid definitions adopted by the federal administration did not recognize or respect these important cultural values, and because of that, Doug insisted that the court take another look at how these definitions should be applied.

Dedicated To The Rule Of Law

As Oregon’s attorney general, I was pleased to join Doug and the state of Hawaii in its lawsuit against the travel ban, and thankful for his bold leadership and strong vision for an inclusive America. As the co-chair of DAGA, the Democratic Attorneys General Association, I am grateful for Doug’s dedication to the rule of law.

I could go on and on about Doug and the many wonderful things he did as Hawaii’s attorney general to support the rights of the LGBTQ community, including his defense of Hawaii’s Marriage Equality Act, advocating for transgender service members in letters to Congress and filing an amicus brief encouraging the Supreme Court to reject discrimination and defend LGBT rights.

Chin has been fighting for justice and equality, for those inalienable rights our Constitution promises all of us.

I’m also grateful that Doug consistently defended rights and opportunities for women, calling on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to maintain protections for survivors of campus sexual assault. Doug also signed a letter demanding that the federal administration not roll back the contraception coverage mandate in the Affordable Care Act.

But most importantly, I want you to know that when I’ve seen Doug in Washington as part of our work together as AGs, he’s been fighting for justice and equality, for those inalienable rights our Constitution promises all of us, whether it is to support immigrants, refugees, gender equity or health care. And if you send him to D.C. as your congressman, I am confident that Doug Chin will continue fighting the good fight for Hawaii, and for all Americans.

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