03 March 2012

Stupid laws

If I may say so, one of the greatest difficulties of our Republic is the proliferation of regulations of various sorts and the retaining of laws that are no longer pertinent.

Writing in the Quincy Herald-Whig, Steve Eighinger offers a sampling of ridiculous laws, State by State (Montana through Wyoming).

For example, a few of my favorites:
  • In North Dakota it is illegal to fall asleep with your shoes on (who knows why or what business that is of legislators), while in South Dakota it is illegal to fall asleep in a cheese factory.
  • Whistling underwater (I'm not quite sure how that's done) is against the law in Vermont.
  • Birds, in Utah, have the right-of-way on the highways.
Mr. Eighinger covered the first half of the Union is a piece I missed earlier and cannot now locate on the web.

One of my favorite stupid laws comes from California, where it is illegal to set a mouse trap without a hunting license.
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6 comments:

  1. Bethany8:09 AM

    My two favorites. One from somewhere in Arizona makes it illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your pocket.

    And there's one somewhere in TN that says elephants walking through town must be on a leash.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will Adams8:11 AM

    Does anyone know if they ever repealed the law that states you have to send a rider on horseback into Chicago to announce your impending arrival via automobile?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Will Adams8:12 AM

    Does anyone know if they repealed the law where you had to send a rider on horseback into Chicago to announce your arrival 1 hour before driving into the city (you know so your automobile doesn't scare anyone)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rev. Daren J. Zehnle, J.C.L., K.C.H.S.9:25 AM

    I think an elephant would make a fine pet.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Andrew3:09 AM

    Dear Fr. D, here's the earlier article. http://www.whig.com/story/17018020/eighinger-dont-hunt-whales-in-kansas-tease-skunks-in-minnesota-or-mistreat-oysters-in-maryland?clienttype=printable

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rev. Daren J. Zehnle, J.C.L., K.C.H.S.4:23 AM

    Thanks, Andrew!

    ReplyDelete

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