Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 11: Summary of Hawaii Laws

Author's Note:

It's been hit-the-ground-running this past week. I got back from vacation on Wednesday and I haven't had any time to work on getting the info I got together transcribed to the blog. It's the weekend now and I have time, so yay! (-: These'll be trickling in through the day, along with my next two posts.

- Jason

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Non-Monogamous Families and the Law, Part 11: Summary of Hawaii Laws

Adultery:

Hawaii possesses no adultery laws, which frees up liability for dyadic non-monogamies (swingers/open relationships).

Bigamy:

Hawaii does posses a bigamy law (referred to as illegally marrying) with a purportation clause (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011k), creating rather extensive liability for non-dyadic non-monogamies (polyamory/fidelity), as the appearance of a bigamous marriage alone is enough to be liable under Hawai'i bigamy. Liability isn't limited to the bigamous individual, but also extends to the additional marryee (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011k).

Punishment for bigamy is surprisingly light, however. Bigamy in Hawaii is only considered a petty misdemeanor (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011k), punishable by up to 30 days imprisonment (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011j) and a fine of up to $1,000 (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011i). This is comparable to adultery liabilities in other states. The usual assortment of incohate laws exist (solicitation, attempt, conspiracy) (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011a; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011b; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011d; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011f), In the case of attempt and conspiracy, the liability is the same as with bigamy (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011c; Hawaii State Legislature, 2011g). Solicitation is supposedly at one grade lower of a punishment, which retains the same potential fine level, but may remove the imprisonment possibility (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011e). There are also no escalating punishments for repeat offenses, as bigamy is not a felony is Hawaii (Hawaii State Legislature, 2011h).

Round-Up of Laws:

Because of the absence of adultery laws, dyadic non-monogamies suffer little liability under Hawaii law. Unfortunately the same is not true of the non-dyadic non-monogamies. Because of the purportation clause in their bigamy law, Hawaii polyamorists and polyfidelitists must show great care in how they present themselves publicly. Liability under Hawaii bigamy is, comparatively, very light. The usual slew of incohate laws make potential liability for anyone who contributes to the appearance of a bigamous marriage.

Non-Monogamous strategies:

Again, dyadics don't need to worry about liability. For non-dyadics, liability can be avoided through careful public presentation of the family unit. Public perception of a bigamous marriage creates much liability, even though it's a much more limited form of liability than is the norm for bigamy.

References

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011a). Criminal attempt. (Hawaii Bill 705-500). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011b). Criminal attempt; attempting to aid another. (Hawaii Bill 705-501). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011c). Grading of criminal attempt. (Hawaii Bill 705-502). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011d). Criminal solicitation. (Hawaii Bill 705-510). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011e). Grading of criminal solicitation. (Hawaii Bill 705-512). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011f). Criminal conspiracy. (Hawaii Bill 705-520). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011g). Grading of criminal conspiracy. (Hawaii Bill 705-526). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011h). Sentencing of repeat offenders. (Hawaii Bill 706-606.5). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011i). Authorized fines. (Hawaii Bill 706-640). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011j). Sentence of imprisonment for misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor. (Hawaii Bill 706-663). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.

Hawaii State Legislature. (2011k). Illegally marrying. (Hawaii Bill 709-900). Honolulu, HI: Hawaii State Legislature.