No native right to cockfight, judge rules
The
Advertiser
reports:
"Native Hawaiians do not have a constitutional right to engage in cockfighting,
a Maui judge has ruled. [The judge] rejected a lawsuit against Maui County and
the state by two Maui men who claimed they are entitled to engage in
cockfighting because their Native Hawaiian ancestors had done so." The county
pointed out that cockfighting has been illegal since at least 1884, during the
reign of King David Kalakaua. "[The judge] agreed with the county, saying that
even though Native Hawaiians may have engaged in cockfighting, it was illegal
when the monarchy was overthrown in
1893."Here's an earlier
article
about the case when it was first filed, and a
letter
from Derek Kauanoe citing the Hawaiian Kingdom penal code that made cockfighting
illegal.
Posted: Wed - September 8, 2004 at 10:50 PM