Question: My son told me that there was a topless woman at Ala Moana Beach Park. They went up to her to tell her that it was not legal. She told them that she had asked the lifeguard and she was from a foreign country and so it was OK. This has been bothering me. Is this correct? There were children there.

Answer: Yes, the visitor was correct. There is no legal requirement that females wear bathing suit tops in Hawaii, although community standards generally prevail to keep women covered up on public beaches, even those visiting from countries where topless sunbathing is common.

This question comes up from time to time, so we checked with the Honolulu Police Department, the city prosecutor and the city and county’s Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Division to see whether the legal landscape had shifted at all since Kokua Line last addressed this issue about a decade ago. It hasn’t, which means that there is no state law or municipal ordinance specifically prohibiting women from baring their breasts on public beaches.

There are laws against indecent exposure and lewdness, but neither statute applies to topless sunbathing. The exposure law, Hawaii Revised Statutes 707-734, refers to the intentional exposure of genitals, not breasts. The lewdness law, HRS 712-1217, describes open lewdness as a “gross flouting of community standards in respect to sexuality or nudity in public” that falls short of a sexual offense. The law includes case notes that specifically exclude the exposure of female breasts as an offense. This is an important distinction, lest discreet breast-feeding in public be deemed illegal, for example. A topless sunbather could commit a lewd act, but toplessness in and of itself would not be considered an offense.

While topless sunbathing by women is not illegal, neither is it common, especially at crowded urban Oahu beaches such as Ala Moana Beach Park. Depending how seriously you feel about this issue, you could contact your state legislator or City Council member to urge them to change the law to specifically outlaw topless sunbathing by women on public beaches. This could be tricky constitutionally, HPD has pointed out, given that men go topless all the time.

The best approach may be to encourage visitors to respect local customs, rather than to reflexively act as they would at home. Instead of focusing solely on the question of legality, as did the visitor you described, tourists should consider what is customary. Hawaii lifeguards play an important role in that regard — able to point out that while going topless is not illegal, most women here generally do cover up.

Your son’s experience proves that highlighting community standards does not always succeed, but we’re hopeful that most visitors are not seeking to offend. With a record number of tourists arriving in Hawaii these days, perhaps there is more the tourism industry could do to educate visitors before they hit the beach, including emphasizing the importance of respecting local sensibilities, which might vary from site to site.

Liliha library needs typewriter

Liliha Public Library has long made a typewriter available for public use, as a convenience for patrons to fill out any number of forms and documents. Branch Manager Sylvia Mitchell explained that for many years, Liliha was the only library to offer the service, which it first extended “because we saw many documents that said ‘must be typed.’” Now Liliha’s typewriter has broken down, and the library is seeking a replacement, preferably an IBM Selectric III, “since we have three boxes of ribbon” for that model, Mitchell said. If any Kokua Line reader has a reliable typewriter to donate, or an affordable one for sale, please call Mitchell at 587-7577 during business hours.

Auwe

Auwe and shame on the person or persons who stole the front and back special license plates from a disabled person’s car. What could you possibly gain from doing that? You have caused unnecessary problems for a handicapped person. Guess you weren’t brought up right in this island of aloha. Hope it made your day! —Makiki senior

Mahalo

Mahalo to the thoughtful person who took the time and effort to put my lost driver’s license in the mail. Even though I had replaced the license by then, I appreciated the gesture — it solved the mystery of where I lost the license in the first place!

Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.