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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Itl4'(1_ll:l) ll<)I:i'I.Itit,I:T: <br /> HCR 1 Box 5344 <br /> Keaau, Hawaii 96749 <br /> Phone (808) 982-5094 <br /> Fax (808) 982-7324 <br /> hilodik@aol.com <br /> August 20, 2006 <br /> <br /> Testimony Regarding Bill 300, a Ban on Consumption <br /> of Alcohol in County Parks - In Opposition <br /> <br /> Chairman Higa and Members of the Hawaii County Council: <br /> <br /> I enjoy visiting our well-maintained County Parks. Sometimes I go to watch a baseball <br /> game, other times just to kick back and relax. On many occasions, particularly on a hot <br /> day, I enjoy a cool beer. I note that others do too. Nobody bothers me, and I don't bother <br /> anyone else. If Bill 300 is enacted into law, we all become instant criminals. Why? <br /> <br /> I have read that we must deprive law abiding citizens this simple pleasure - consuming a <br /> legal substance - to make the police and lifeguards' jobs easier. I was a police officer for <br /> 6 years. No one ever passed a law to make my job easier, nor did I expect any one to. In <br /> my view, this is a poor reason to deprive citizens of their freedom to drink responsibly - <br /> which is what the overwhelming majority of them now do. It is a classic bureaucratic <br /> approach to solving a problem - punish everyone for the irresponsible actions of a few. <br /> <br /> It is suggested that one can legally drink a beer if the person has first obtained a "permit" <br /> to do so. Has any one really thought this out? It's a hot August day, and on the spur of the <br /> moment I decide to head over to Carvalho Park to watch a ball game in progress. I stop at <br /> 7-11 and pick up a sixer of Natural Lite. Whoops, I forgot to go to the Recreation and <br /> Parks Department to get a permit to drink my beer. Come on, who is going to go through <br /> such nonsense? This proposal merely adds another non enforceable law to the myriad that <br /> currently exist. <br /> <br /> A Councilman has stated that the law abiding citizen having a quiet beer is not the target <br /> of this proposed ordinance - that the law will be enforced "with discretion". As a civil <br /> libertarian and former police officer, that sends chills up my spine. You don't fix a bad <br /> law with selective enforcement. What you do is breed disrespect for the law, and law <br /> enforcement personnel. Bill 300 is bad law. It is a band aid approach to the real problem, <br /> which is a lack of enforcement of existing laws regulating irresponsible behavior. <br /> I have the utmost appreciation for the hard work and dedication of the Recreation and <br /> Parks folks, Hawaii County Police, and County Lifeguards, but I disagree with them on <br /> this issue. It's about freedom. Please dump Bill 300. <br /> <br /> <br /> 1Z• H4W~ 1 <br /> Comm. W.- <br /> Ref. To. Ref. Date AUG 21 7x06 <br />