COM 0314.036 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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;i,.. SEPTEMBER 9, 1978 631 of privacy because no one bothers them. This is really a protection we are offering to III ordinary people who don't know how to protest. The delegate from Maui asks what it is designed to correct. Really, at this point I don't know what it's designed to correct, but I know what it's designed to protect. It's designed to protect our individual freedoms, those things which we hold dear. Every one of us should be entitled to some kinds of secrets that we may want to keep. In our behavior with other people, we should be allowed to act in a certain way, We should be allowed to drop [he masks that we have to wear in public so that when we go home ~ there is no need to keep this mask on. i I recall from my childhood days on Maui, when we went walking up to the Poot of it the west Maui mountains and said--let's climb it--and we did, and afterwards deep in ~ Iao Valley we went skinny-dipping. I would hate [o think that we would no longer be ;I able to do things like this. Bu[ I see [hat we have cases where a policeman would drive all the way out to Kaena Point--and Kaena Point is as remote as you can get on this Island of Oahu--and give a fiche[ to someone who was sunbathing out there. I would like to think that our legislature would consider that there should be places where we would ~i be allowed to do these things that give us a sense of freedom and relaxation. I remember in Iao Valle where as a child I dreamed about what could ha y, ppen, I wondered if this was something like Walden Pond; and then, being brought back to Hawaii, thinking-- was it Kalaniopuu or Kahekili or Kamehameha, which of the rulers had come up and fought in these valleys, so that part of Iao Stream is now called Kepaniwai. I think we should have the right to have these opportunities, when we can go in solitude and think about the world in general, about history, and just have a place where we can totally relax, without fear of breaking laws, without fear of government intervention. For these and many other reasons, I ask that the delegates vote down this amendment. CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Delegate Hino. The Chair recognizes Delegate Takitani. DELEGATE TAKITANI: Mr. Chairman, point of inquiry, I would like to ask a - question of the chairman, or anyone else. CHAIRMAN: State your question. i DELEGATE TAKITANI: Would the words "compelling state interest" allow an individ- it ual to smoke marijuana in the privacy of his home without being harassed? i'i CHAIRMAN: The Chair will inquire of Delegate Weatherwax whether he wishes f~' to yield to that question. II ~ DELEGATE WEATHERWAX: I'll try [o respond. First of all, any language in the ~i ~ Constitution, of course, is not going to prohibit anyone from doing what he intends to do anyway. However, in response to your question as to whether or not--it's really an ~ unanswerable question; it would have [o go to the courts. I believe that in Alaska, how- i, ever, based on the right to privacy, there was a law or case law which permitted the I~ smoking of marijuana in the privacy of one's home. That is an Alaska case. But also--I believe the question was de to "compelling state interest"--I believe there are federal case laws which deal with "compelling state interest" and define it--that would I ~ be the Griswold case. Also while I'm answering questions, I might point out to the delegate from Maui that there has been a case here in Hawaii--I believe it's State v. Roy--which answers his concerns as to-- CHAIRMAN: Delegate Weatherwax, which delegate's question are you-- DELEGATE WEATHERWAX: Well, I was answering Delegate Takitani--both are from Maui. CHAIRMAN: That's right. Does that answer your question to some extent, Delegate Takitani? DELEGATE TAKITANI: Yes. CHAIRMAN: The Chair recognizes Delegate Sterling.