Comments on: Pending Hawaii law “could punish anyone who takes a photo of a celebrity in public”

By: Ron Miller

Ron Miller — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:13:12 +0000

I’m not in favor of the law. But, Bob, reasonableness as a standard is an idea deeply embedded in our law. Be nice to have some one size fits all standard but the real world does not work that way.

By: David Schwartz

David Schwartz — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:38:30 +0000

nevins: I think that’s a problem. The law doesn’t apply only to celebrities, but to anyone who might have someone else try to capture their image in an offensive manner. A law prohibiting obscene phone calls only benefits people who have a phone, but surely that doesn’t subject it to 14A scrutiny.

By: nevins

nevins — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 01:49:13 +0000

full text of the bill:(http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2013/Bills/SB465_.HTM)

While the body of the text avoids ‘celebrity’, the preamble clearly states the groups being protected. I am not a lawyer, so can someone explain how this works with the 14th amendment equal protection clause? Some folks are just more special and deserve more protections of law than others in Hawai’i apparently.

By: boblipton

boblipton — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 01:25:13 +0000

The word that fills me with dread is “reasonable”.

Bob

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:38:13 +0000

See Ron Galella, generally.

By: Tom Smith

Tom Smith — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 07:10:17 +0000

I have the same sentiments with Ron, but I guess its not that a bad law. Some parameters should be included and debated thoroughly before passing it.

By: Ron Miller

Ron Miller — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 02:23:48 +0000

It is a bad law. But it has good intentions. What these people do to get these pictures is pretty awful. But there are some ills in society we just can’t legislature away without throwing out the baby with the bath water.

By: Aloysious A Gruntpuddock

Aloysious A Gruntpuddock — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:06:28 +0000

And just how do you define a”celebrity”?

By: gitarcarver

gitarcarver — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:40:08 +0000

Chasing some one, causing a scene and taking rolls (flashcards?) of pictures for commercial use would (should) be prohibited.

There are laws against stalking. There are laws against starting a fight. There are laws against causing disturbances

There is no line in the sand for “reasonable” as what you consider unreasonable, I may consider “reasonable” and vice versa.

People in a civilized society should know with certainty what is illegal behavior. The illegality of something should not rest on “reasonable.”

In my reasonable opinion, this law is a disaster.

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:04:04 +0000

The article notes in a manner that would be offensive to reasonable person.

That shouldn’t stop anyone from taking a snap on the beach or at a speech.