HONOLULU (Sept. 2) -- Stinky city bus riders soon could get soaked. The Honolulu City Council is considering a bill that would impose up to a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail for public transit passengers convicted of being too smelly.
The bill will be heard Thursday in committee. It would make it illegal to have "odors that unreasonably disturb others or interfere with their use of the transit system." It doesn't matter if it's body odor or offensive fumes that emanates from clothes, personal belongings or animals.
Councilmen Rod Tam and Nestor Garcia co-sponsored the anti-odor bill.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii says it is concerned with laws that are inherently vague, which opens the door to discriminatory enforcement based on an officer's individual prejudices.
This is a law against homeless people who want to ride buses, basically. Just another milepost on the road to outlawing homelessness altogether.
And the police in this country have shown that they will use any excuse they can to arrest people. Giving them another excuse is insane.
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