A lawsuit challenges Hawaii homestead leases limited to those with 50% Hawaiian blood
The suit says the 50% blood-quantum rule bars thousands from applying for 99-year leases and violates equal protection.
- On Monday, the Pacific Legal Foundation filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Hawaii resident Eric Ryan, challenging the state's 50% Native Hawaiian blood-quantum requirement for homestead leases as unconstitutional.
- President Warren G. Harding signed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921 to provide land for Native Hawaiians identified as "landless and dying" following the kingdom's overthrow, establishing a program managing approximately 200,000 acres.
- With over 29,000 people on the waitlist, Hawaii offers 99-year leases for $1 a year to applicants with at least 50% Hawaiian ancestry, though Ryan was denied pre-qualification for answering no to the requirement.
- Governor Josh Green and Attorney General Anne Lopez vowed to "vigorously defend" the program as a legal and moral obligation, appointing Solicitor General Kalikoonalani Fernandes to lead the state's legal defense.
- Both sides prepare for a lengthy legal battle that could reach the Supreme Court, as the case emerges amid broader national challenges to ancestry-based policies and diversity programs.
32 Articles
32 Articles
Oahu man files lawsuit challenging Hawaiian homes policy
The Hawaii Attorney General will “vigorously defend” the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands from a federal civil lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act as discriminatory and unconstitutional. Oahu resident Eric Sean Ryan, 60, a founder of Hawaii Republican Action, filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that the federal government does not distribute public land by bloodline. “Yet Hawaii continues to administer a public land prog…
Oahu man, 60, challenges Hawaiian homes policy | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The Hawaii Attorney General will “vigorously defend” the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands from a federal civil lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Associated Press News
A lawsuit challenges Hawaii homestead leases limited to those with 50% Hawaiian blood
A lawsuit is challenging the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, which provides land to Native Hawaiians with at least 50% Hawaiian blood quantum.
Hawaii sued over 50% Native Hawaiian blood requirement
A discrimination lawsuit has been filed challenging an Act in Hawaii that sets aside land for Native Hawaiians. The Pacific Legal Foundation says the blood-quantum requirement of 50% Native Hawaiian […] The post Hawaii sued over 50% Native Hawaiian blood requirement appeared first on AsAmNews.
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