Life in America... Bizarre State Laws

[Arden]

Life in America... Bizarre State Laws

We sure have a lot of strange laws on the books here.

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If a police officer in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, suspects a couple is having sex inside a vehicle they must honk their horn three times, and wait two minutes before being allowed to approach the scene.

Women must address bachelors as master instead of mister, according to an Illinois state law.

A law in Oblong, Illinois makes it a crime to make love while fishing or hunting on your wedding day.

A law in Fairbanks, Alaska, does not allow moose to have sex on city streets.

In Ventura County, California, cats and dogs are not allowed to have sex without a permit.

Clinton, Oklahoma, has a law against masturbating while watching two people having sex in a car.

In Willowdale, Oregon, no man may curse while having sex with his wife.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania it is illegal to have sex with a truck driver inside a toll booth.

Hotels in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are required by law to furnish their rooms with twin beds only. There should be a minimum of two feet between the beds, and it is illegal for a couple to make love on the floor between the beds.

In Kingsville, Texas, there is a law against two pigs having sex on the city's airport property.

A Tremonton, Utah law states that no woman is allowed to have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance. In addition to normal charges, the woman's name will be published in the local newspaper. The man does not receive any punishment.

No woman may go in public without wearing a corset in Norfolk, Virginia.

In the state of Washington there is a law against having sex with a virgin under any circumstances. (including the wedding night)

The only acceptable sexual position in Washington D.C. is the missionary-style position. Any other sexual position is considered illegal.

In Florida it is illegal for single, divorced, or widowed women to parachute on Sunday afternoons.

In Ames Iowa a husband may not take more than three gulps of beer while lying in bed with his wife.

A law in Alexandria, Minnesota makes it illegal for a husband to make love to his wife if his breath smells like garlic, onions, or sardines.

In Bozeman, Montana, you can't perform any sexual acts in the front yard of any home, after sundown, and if you are nude.

A Helena, Montana law states that a woman cannot dance on a saloon table unless her clothing weights more than three pounds, two ounces.

Hotel owners in Hastings, Nebraska are required by law to provide a clean, white cotton nightshirt to each guest. According to the law, no couple may have sex unless they are wearing the nightshirts.

Any couple making out inside a vehicle, and accidentally sounding the horn during their lustful act, may be taken to jail according to a Liberty Corner, New Jersey law.

During lunch breaks in Carlsbad, New Mexico, no couple should engage in a sexual act while parked in their vehicle, unless their car has curtains.

In Nevada sex without a condom is considered illegal.

In Cleveland, Ohio women are not allowed to wear patent-leather shoes.

In Connorsville, Wisconsin no man shall shoot of a gun while his female partner is having a sexual orgasm.

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Feel free to add more to the list!

 

[Arden]

Michigan is not without fault

Lessons from Outrageous Laws

The current backlash over the growth of government has spawned an often bitter struggle to separate the statutory wheat from the chaff. While most of the controversy surrounds costly entitlements and federal regulations, politicians should be aware that there are many laws and ordinances in Michigan that nearly everyone will agree should be repealed. A brief review not only makes for some laughs, but also should cause public officials to think twice before regulating further. To the careful observer, such laws speak volumes about what occurs when political leaders abandon principle, and begin governing by crisis or by special interest.

Consider the Michigan law that makes it illegal to have an emblem or insignia of an organization on your car when you are not a member of that organization. How many Michigan motorists are illegally driving around the state in a used car with the former owner's alumni association decal plastered to the window? Or what about that auto dealership insignia? Does buying a Taurus make me a member of Big Al's Ford? Who in the world ever thought that driving with the wrong bumper sticker should be a punishable offense?

Michigan municipalities have their own unique laws. The City of Harper Woods prohibits painting birds, in an apparent effort to stop unscrupulous persons from passing off a sparrow as a canary with the help of a yellow highlighter. The city manager there notes, however, that to his knowledge no one has ever been prosecuted under the ordinance. The Village of Lyons provides a fine for "indecent exposure of any stallion or bull." And it is unlawful in Hancock, a city with steep terrain, to coast or slide on any of its streets or sidewalks- except those designated by the City as streets or sidewalks for coasting or sliding.

Politicians have addressed actions that run from the basic to the bizarre. State law prohibits walkathons, playing the Star Spangled Banner as a dance tune or exit march, and inciting Indians to break a law-the latter being a felony. It clamps down on free speech with many laws that would most likely be held unconstitutional if challenged, including statutes which prohibit blasphemy, profane curses, and using indecent language in the presence of a woman or child. A state law even allows city mayors and council members to be fined if they fail to move to suppress a riot.

Some of the worst laws are those that make it difficult for a person to earn a living or operate a business, which often hit low income business people and struggling entrepreneurs hardest. For example, Michigan farmers need a license to feed garbage to a pig, unless the garbage is from their own household. Barbers may not cut hair on Sunday unless the person receiving the haircut is dead. The fire protection code requires sprinklers in walk-in freezers, and the City of Detroit requires parking lot attendants to be licensed, even if all they do is direct cars to a parking spot. State law prohibits selling bulk candy by gross weight, requiring small mom and pop stores to buy special scales for candy with wrappers.

While many rules reflect historical times and mores, there are some lessons to be learned from these often silly and sometimes destructive laws. First, there is tremendous political pressure to govern by crisis. When a riot occurs and the people think the mayor could have done more to stop it, we pass a state law providing a fine for such neglect. When someone poisons a pig with tainted garbage, we require a license. When a parking lot attendant damages a car or allows a car to be damaged, we require a license. When dwarf tossing becomes a spectator sport, we require a permit, as the City of Lansing does. Any abuse or unconventional behavior becomes grounds for government intervention.

While it is always hard to resist the heat of the moment, this problem of governing by crisis is exacerbated by the popular sentiment that we should look immediately to government to remedy problems. And often, as if in search of utopia, we mistakenly believe that all problems have political solutions. What we need are officials with a better definition of the role of government and when, instead of turning to the law, people should either turn to themselves or accept a certain modicum of imperfection. A country without some abuse of liberty is a country without liberty.

The second lesson to glean from outrageous laws is that special interests thrive where policy is not circumscribed by principle. Movers of household goods have a special Michigan law that fixes prices when moving goods more than eight miles, which prevents small entrepreneurial firms from competing freely on the basis of price, and guarantees greater profits for others. And what association was so miffed that people were putting its stickers on their cars without actually being members that it lobbied successfully to prohibit that act? Where there is no commitment to a free-market economy, citizens are at the mercy of the well-heeled interests.

Abraham Lincoln once said that the best way to get a bad law repealed is to strictly enforce it.

Maybe we should begin to arrest Michigan drivers with empty windshield washers, fine people who sell or give cigarettes containing ingredients deleterious to health, jail divorced couples who live together, and prosecute architects who fail to specify enough temporary toilets in a construction contract. Perhaps, however, we should simply be more sensible about what we expect from government.

 

[Arden]

Kentucky...

Kentucky Law Mandates One Bath a Year
Throwing Eggs Could Get You Thrown in Jail
By JERIANNE STRANGE, AP


ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (Feb. 24) - A state law mandating that people take a bath once a year is just one of many unusual - some bizarre - statutes that are or have been on the books in Kentucky.

A law forbids selling dyed chicks unless six or more are for sale at the same time.

"There are a lot of crazy laws out there," said Ruben Gardner, Elizabethtown's chief of police.

Another state law, for example, stated that "No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she be escorted by at least two officers or unless she be armed with a club." The law was later amended with: "The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it apply to female horses."

Other unusual laws and proposed punishments from across the state include:

Throwing eggs (or tomatoes) at a public speaker could result in up to one year in prison.

It is unlawful to dye or color a baby chick, duckling or rabbit and offer it for sale unless six or more are for sale at the same time.

Steve Park, finance director for the city of Elizabethtown, said he's found some interesting laws that were adopted by the city in the late 1800s and that are still on the books.

"There's one that states if a horse dies in front of a house, the horse owner has 12 hours to have it removed. If the owner doesn't, then it becomes the responsibility of the property owner to have it removed," Park said. "I'm sure that at the time it was a necessary law, but I'm not sure how needed it is today."

Another local law concerns a dog tax that was imposed. Park said the handwritten statute, found in very old minutes of city council meetings required a small amount for each dog be collected. "The sheriff is to collect the tax or shoot the dog," according to the minutes.

 

[Arden]

It's against the law to get a fish drunk in Oklahoma

In North Carolina, it is against the law to use elephants to plow cotton fields.

In New York City, one is forbidden from shooting rabbits from the back end of a Third Avenue streetcar when it is moving.

In Kansas, people cannot shoot rabbits while in a motorboat.

In Statesville, North Carolina, it is against the law to race rabbits in the streets.

In Tuscumbia, Alabama, no more than eight rabbits can reside on the same block.

A law in Detroit, Michigan, prohibits crocodiles from being tied to a fire hydrant.

Donkeys are not allowed to sleep in bathtubs in Brooklyn, New York.

In Baltimore, Maryland, it is necessary to document any services performed by a jackass.

In Ohio, it is against the law to set a fire under your mule if it balks.

In Arkansas, if your 2-year-old mule runs wild and is unclaimed within 2 days, anyone may castrate the animal.

In Marshalltown, Iowa, a horse will be breaking the law if it eats a fire hydrant.

People can be fined, arrested or jailed for making ugly faces at a dog in Oklahoma.

Dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, dogs are prohibited from going on private property unless the owner gives his consent first.

In Chicago, it is illegal to take a French poodle to the opera.

Dogs are strictly forbidden from riding in ambulances in Westport, Massachusetts.

Wallace, Idaho, decreed it is unlawful for anyone to sleep in a dog kennel.

In Clawson, Michigan, a law specifically makes it legal for a farmer to sleep with his pigs, cows, horses, goats, and chickens. But the animals may not be in the house after sunup or during the day.

Florida has a law prohibiting the transporting of livestock on school buses.

If you live in Franklin, Kentucky, you can't legally trade horses after dark.

In Alabama, no mules can be traded after supper when the sun has already gone below the horizon. And in Idaho, you can't buy or sell chickens after sundown without the sheriff's permission.

It is illegal to lasso a catfish in Tennessee and the state of Washington.

In Seattle, goldfish can ride the city buses in bowls only if they keep still.

You cannot shoot fish with a bow and arrow in Louisville, Kentucky. And you cannot shoot fish with a gun in the state of Washington or in Hazelhurst, Mississippi.

It's against the law to get a fish drunk in Oklahoma.

In Kansas, you cannot fish with your bare hands, while in the state of Washington, you can't catch a fish by throwing a rock at it.

 

[Arden]

Bizarre Canadian Laws

You may not pay for a fifty-cent item with only pennies.

Citizens may not publicly remove bandages.

In British Columbia, it is illegal to kill a sasquatch.

In New Brunswick, driving on the roads is not allowed.

In Montreal, you may not swear in French.

Also in Montreal, citizens may not relieve themselves or spit on the street. Punishable by a fine of over 100 Canadian dollars.

In Beaconsfield, it is considered an offense to have more than two colors of paint on your house.

In Toronto, you can't drag a dead horse down Yonge St. on a Sunday.

The city of Guelph is classified as a no-pee zone.

 

[Arden]

Arkansaw

Arkansas must be pronounced "Arkansaw"

The Arkansas River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little Rock.

A law provides that school teachers who bob their hair will not get a raise.

A man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month.

Oral sex is considered to be sodomy.

Alligators may not be kept in bathtubs.

 

[Arden]

Arizona

There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus.

Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water.

Hunting camels is prohibited.

Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony (This goes back to the days of the Wild West).

You may not have more than two dildos per household.

 

[Arden]

For Soron, the Floridian

Florida

If you try to commit suicide and don't succeed you are free.

However, if you do succeed, it is considered a felony.

State law prohibits men from being seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown. This also goes specifically for men in Miami.

Horse theft is punishable by hanging.

A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.

You can be assessed a parking fee if you leave an elephant tied to a parking meter.

A man may not kiss his wife's breasts.

 

[Missingmeds]

Some of those laws are there because they were never changed or taken off the state codes when they became outdated.

Very good posts and pleased to meet you Arden.

 

[CharlotteNCguy]

Re: Kentucky...

Another state law, for example, stated that "No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she be escorted by at least two officers or unless she be armed with a club." The law was later amended with: "The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it apply to female horses."

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Arden - When I read that this morning I laughed so hard I almost split. Made me think of a friend of mine in Ky...I e-mailed it to her and she responded...Never to worry - she never goes anywhere in Ky without her club!!!!

 

[Arden]

Some of those laws are there because they were never changed or taken off the state codes when they became outdated.

Very good posts and pleased to meet you Arden.

Nice to meet you too!

Some of them are still enforcable. I live in Michigan - a few years back a woman in my town was arrested, tried, convicted of using profanity while making a nasty remark about a person of color to her friend in a restaurant. Ironically, the person she was talking about overheard, was aware of the law and called the cops.

I hope that taught her to be civil in public.

Yes, a lot of the laws are outdated. I guess they leave some of them on the books just so that we can be amused.

 

[Arden]

Michigan...

Michigan

You can collect a 10 cent bounty on every rat you bring into a town office. (It was 50 cents per rat in my city in the 1850s - 60s)

It is legal for a robber to file a law suit, if he or she is injured in your house.

Any person over the age of 12 may have a license for a handgun as long as he/she has not been convicted of a felony.

It is against the law to serenade your girlfriend in Kalamazoo.

In Pontiac, Michigan, it is illegal to drink soda in a bag of any kind.

Michigan law prohibits chaining an alligator to a fire hydrant.




Darn it, where am I going to park my freaking alligator now? lol

 

[Arden]

Re: Re: Kentucky...

Arden - When I read that this morning I laughed so hard I almost split. Made me think of a friend of mine in Ky...I e-mailed it to her and she responded...Never to worry - she never goes anywhere in Ky without her club!!!!

Smart lady!

 

[CharlotteNCguy]

Re: Re: Re: Kentucky...

Smart lady!

But of course! It's my attorney

CAMILLE SAVAGE !!!

 

[Arden]

North Carolina...

It's against the law to sing off key.

Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.

State law mandates that all couples staying in rooms for one night must be kept in a room with double beds, kept a minimum of two feet apart, and making love on the floor between the beds is strictly forbidden.

Women must have their bodies covered by at least 16 yards of cloth at all times. - Charlotte, NC

You must pay a property tax on your dog. Rocky Mount, NC

How do you all do it there if you can't do it on the floor?

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Very interesting!

Donkeys are not allowed to sleep in bathtubs in Brooklyn, New York.

Arizona: Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

A lot of my family from Brooklyn now lives in Arizona!


http://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk/pygmy-donkey-small.jpg

What a strange connection! (Although I do have a rather strange family!)

 

[tonitits]

Bizarre laws remain on books in Kentucky
The Associated Press,
Wednesday, November 26, 2003 - Volume 94 Number 69

Printed from DailyBeacon.utk.edu
URL: http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/article.php/13035

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) - If you move to Kentucky you better be prepared to bathe.

A state law that mandates people bathe at least once in 12 months is just one of many unusual statutes that are or have been on the books.

Another state law stated that "No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she be escorted by at least two officers or unless she be armed with a club."

The law was later amended with: "The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it apply to female horses."

"Sometimes unusual laws have a little sense behind them," said D. Dee Shaw, attorney for the city. "Sometimes they don't."

 

[tonitits]

Bizarre Laws

The laws listed below are on the books, just not enforced for many years. This list is not designed to make fun of Nevada laws, just brining to light that certain laws should be updated or eliminated
Did You Know. . .

It is illegal In Nevada to drive a camel on the highway.

In Nevada, it is "legal" to hang a person for shooting your dog on your property.



Clark County, Nevada
Catch 22...
There is an ordinance on the books making the act of bringing a concealable fire arm into the county illegal, unless it is registered with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. In order to register the concealable fire arm it must be brought in to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police station. Registering a concealable fire arm on a weekend is not permitted, but the police can prosecute you at that time.

Elko, Nevada
Street walkers take note. . .
If you are walking the streets you are required to wear a mask.

Eureka, Nevada
No Kiss and tell law...
Amy man who wears a moustache is therefore forbidden from kissing women.

Nyala, Nevada
Drinkers beware. . .
Men are forbidden from purchasing drinks for more than three people other than himself at any one period during the day.

 

[tonitits]

Bizarre Laws

Most Middle Eastern countries recognize the following Islamic law: "After having sexual relations with a lamb, it is a mortal sin to eat its flesh."

In Lebanon, men are legally allowed to have sex with animals, but the animals must be female. Having sexual relations with a male animal is punishable by death.

In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman's genitals, but is forbidden from looking directly at them during the examination. He may only see their reflection in a mirror.

Muslims are banned from looking at the genitals of a corpse. This also applies to undertakers; the sex organs of the decease must be covered with a brick or piece of wood at all times.

The penalty for masturbation in Indonesia is decapitation.

There are men in Guam whose full-time job is to travel the countryside and deflower young virgins, who pay them for the privilege of having sex for the first time. Reason: under Guam law, it is expressly forbidden for virgins to marry.

In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her adulterous husband, but may only do so with her bare hands.

Topless saleswomen are legal in Liverpool, England - but only in tropical fish stores.

In Cali, Colombia, a woman may only have sex with her husband, and the first time this happens her mother must be in the room to witness the act.

In Santa Cruz, Bolivia it is illegal for a man to have sex with a woman and her daughter at the same time.

In Maryland, it is illegal to sell condoms from vending machines with one exception: prophylactics may be dispensed from a vending machine only "in places where alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises."