Categories: Legal

Stupid Laws in America – Passed by Both Congress and Various States

Did you know that in Alabama it is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church? Or that in Louisiana it is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot at a teller with a water pistol? If you are in New York City don’t ever be guilty of flirting, especially if you are a male-you can be fined $25 if you do, especially if you are on a city street and turn around to do the flirting. You may also not know that Congress in 2005 passed a law that allows members to go down to the local IRS headquarters personally, or to send an agent, to learn all about your income or your family. Those are just some of the examples of what some writers on various websites deem to be “stupid laws” that Americans are unaware they may have to obey, or else face the consequences.

How could such a law pass, that would allow members of Congress to learn all they can about your personal finances? In 2005, when the bill was passed, Majority Leader Tom DeLay said he had no idea that provision was in a bill he was voting on. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he has no idea how the provision got in the bill. DeLay and Frist were both Republicans, but Democratic Representative from California, Henry Waxman, also said that members of Congress often don’t have the chance to read or understand some of the bills they vote on.

The provision to allow members of Congress to look at the financial information of the public was contained in one sentence in a 2,000 page budget bill Congress voted on. Only after the bill was passed did a Senator notice the provision which some websites deemed “bad.”

In a similar manner, another massive budget passed a couple of years before the one that allowed Congress to inspect your financial records a small, unnoticed provision changed the requirement that background checks of gun buyers be destroyed within 24 hours, instead of 90 days.

The bill that allowed the tax snooping allocated $1.5 million for a project to determine the feasibility of transporting chilled water from Lake Ontario to two New York counties and $70,000 for the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The examples of what some writers call “stupid” laws come from all areas of the country-North, South, East, and West.

In California it is illegal for animals to mate publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.

As for the law about flirting in New York City, a second conviction might force the “criminal” to wear a “pair of horse-blinders” whenever he goes for a walk.

Those are not the only laws deemed stupid in New York by writers. To stay within the law, someone must purchase a license before hanging clothes on a clothesline. The penalty for jumping off a building is death.

In Texas, the Encyclopedia Britannica is banned, because it contains a recipe to make beer at home.

Does anyone think criminals will obey one Texas law that a writer deemed as stupid? It requires that criminals give their intended victims a 24-hour notice, in writing or orally, as to the nature of the crime about to be committed.

Florida has several laws deemed stupid by writers.

Don’t ever sing in a public place while wearing a swimming suit. If you do, you may find out what the penalty is for breaking the law.

If you are a man, don’t go out publicly in Florida in a strapless gown.

The laws websites deemed stupid can even border on the bizarre. It is also illegal in Florida to have sex with a porcupine.