Smokers Oppose Ban at City-Operated Beaches and Parks Through Loophole

The Honolulu City Council has recently passed smoking bans at city-operate beaches and parks and bus stops.  Assuming that the pass a routine legal review, Mayor Kirk Caldwell has stated that he will sign the two bills into law and that they would go into effect on January 1, 2014.  However, protesters of the smoking ban have found a loophole in the bill which allows them to smoke in state waters along the shoreline.  While the city does have jurisdiction at state parks, the state of Hawaii is responsible for Hawaii waters, and the state does not ban smoking in state waters.  As a result, a group of smokers have announced that they are planning to create the "Great Ala Moana Beach Smokeout" to protest the new city law.  It should be noted that the state does prohibit carelessness with littering, fire and water pollution, which means that smokers can not throw their cigarettes into the water once they are done.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell acknowledged that the loophole does exist and commented, "Every law we write, someone's trying to get around it.  We'll address that down the road somehow.  I believe that most people are law-abiding.  If you have a sign saying ‘no smoking in this park,' people will take that literally and not smoke on the beach or down by the water."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-13-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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