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Ludicrous Laws
by Jack Wellman
2007-12-26 09:58:58 |
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I have heard of some strange laws and how many are still on the books or in effect. These various laws reflect a mental philosophy about the cultures and times in which they lived. These are the very reasons they were enacted. Some are obviously outdated, but others have a real purpose that continues to this day, antiquated as they may seem.
Some of these that I know of seem highly irrelevant today, like “you can’t shoot an Indian while riding in a wagon in Dallas (Texas)”. No doubt, at one time this happened. Now there are too many Cowboys (as in Dallas‘). Take about old fashioned modesty: “It is illegal to hold hands in public without children present or before age thirty”. This law was common in the deep southern U. S. States.
In my own state of Kansas: “Rabbits may not be shot from motorboats. Pedestrians crossing the highways at night must wear tail lights. No one may catch fish with his bare hands. The state game rule prohibits the use of mules to hunt ducks. If two trains meet on the same track, neither shall proceed until the other has passed.
In New York the law still reads “Idiots may not vote”. In Texas, "It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing. It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel. It is illegal to milk another person's cow. A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed. The entire Encyclopaedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home".
In Wyoming, Using a firearm to fish is strictly forbidden. Any person who fails to close a fence is subject to a fine of up to seven hundred and fifty dollars. It is illegal for women to stand within five feet of a bar while drinking. You may not take a picture of a rabbit from January to April without an official permit. In Arkansas: “Alligators may not be kept in bathtubs“, and “Public school teachers who bob their hair, will not get a raise“.
Please understand that some of the old laws in the books are still relevant, like spitting on the sidewalk or on someone (since Tuberculoses, etc., can be spread this way). This health law and others, enacted by many nations and states several years ago, has reduced the spread of disease. Quarantines are another old law that had a beneficial effect, like on Typhoid Fever and several others.
These laws reflect a culture from another time and era. These laws speak of what they considered critically important at that time. When societies enact laws, their utility for that society is their focus. Generally, they have strengthened societies. Where there is no law, there is only lawlessness. And this serves only the interests of the few and powerful.
But some laws I would not worry about, like in Alabama, I have no problem following the still in effect law of having “No bear wrestling matches, not driving barefoot, not playing dominoes on Sunday, and not having an ice cream cone in my back pocket at any time (it only took one guy to ruin it for the rest of us, huh?!)“. Oh yes, “It is illegal for a driver to drive with a blindfold on”. So be careful out there…ignorance might be bliss, but an officer once told me, “it was no excuse”.
law Ovi_magazine Ovi-lehti USA |
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