Dumb Laws in the United States

Dumb Laws in the United States

America can be a strange, strange place. So strange that some of the states can have some ridiculous laws. What's so bad is that some of these laws are still in effect today. Keep in mind that this is not to offend anybody, and is only here to provide giggles and guffaws. Let's take a look at some of the dumbest laws across the states.

Alabama

In Alabama, you're not allowed to wrestle a bear. Exploitataion of a bear may be punishable by fine, and your bear may be confiscated.

Alaska

In Alaska, you're not allowed to get drunk and remain on the premises of a bar (Then...what's the purpose of having a bar?) You can get away with it, if you don't seem drunk.

In 2012, the law was heavily inforced, and violations can result in a heafty fine.

Arizona

You can't feed garbage to pigs without a permit, and the permit requires yearly renewal. You can however feed the pigs with a waste basket.

Arkansas

A pinball machine can't give more than 25 free games to a player who wins consistantly. This law is extempted from places like Chuck E. Cheese because these places can award free toys.

California

A frog that dies during a frog-jumping competition can't be eaten.

Colarado

You need a permit to be allowed to modify the weather. This, while it may seem silly, it is cually possible to modify the weather.

In some select states, you can practice this legally without a permit. The burning of chemicals, like sulfur and silver iodide can actually cause changes to the weather, such as the formation of clouds.

These restictions were put into place to prevent serious chages to the atmosphere.

Connecticut

It is illegal to let somebody copy your acedemic work. It is serious business, and can result with more than time in detention. The punishment isn't specified, however.

Flordia

You are not allowed to shatter more than three dishes a day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers. So if you're clumsy, you better stay away from here.

Georgia

Those engaging in llama-related activites are not covered by health insurance. Unless you're a 'llama prfessional", you are not covered.

Hawaii

All billboards are banned in Hawaii, with just 18 exceptions.

Idaho

Cannibalism is a serious crime in Idaho, with punishments of up to 14 years in prision. The only exception being that if you were caught in a life-or-death situation.

The law was repealed in 1990, however so it wouldn't look like Idaho was promoting the consumption of humans.

Illinois

You cannot own or purchase over 600 dollars worth of salamanders (which is about 75 salamanders), when in relality, you cannot own 600 dollar worth of aquatic life of any kind.

Indiana

It is illegal for a man to be sexually aroused in public. If it is undetectable, then you may be able to get away with it. This law was supposedly outlawed in 1997.

Iowa

Any person who tries to pass margarine off as real butter is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Kansas

Every legislator, public officer, and lawyer must take an oath stating that they have not fought a duel with deadly weapons, the deadly weapons being things like spears.

The law was passed in 1847 to turn men away from doing such barbaric things.

Lousiana

Peeing in public water supply may be punishable by 20 years in prison.

Maine

After January 14th, a fine can be given if you still have your Christmas decorations up.

Maryland

A person who sells non-latex condoms by means of a vending machine can be issued a fine of up to $1,000.

Massachusetts

In Gillete or Fenway park, if you sing half, less than half, or in separate parts of the National Anthem, it is punishable by a fine of $100. The smae goes for dancing, if any.

Michigan

Adultry is a felony punishable by either 4 years in prision or a $5,000 fine. This has been in effect since 1931 by a statue on the books. Michigan does not enforce this law heavily since 2012.

Minnesota

Any game or event that attempts to capture a greased or oiled pig is illegal. The same counts for turkey scambles, and can be punishable by a fine. Maybe the legitlators were high when they came up with this law.

Mississippi

Swearing in front of two or more persons in public may land you in the county jail for a month, or you can pay a fine to the county swear jar for no more than $100.

This law seems to vilate the First Amendment, it was probably thought of as a way to protect the public.

Missouri

Guiding a sheep to the railroad tracks with intentions to injure the train, not the sheep, can result in a hefty fine of $50,000 and 5 years in prision.

All locomotives were created equal according to Missouri.

Nebraska

Any person with an STD cannot marry. Due to nearly 8,000 Nebraskans inflicted with gononrhea and chlamydia, it is nearly impossible to enforce. Also, many cases go unreported.

Nevada

Although prostitution won't get you arrested here like most states, but determining shoe size with an x-ray can. The fluoroscope, a device that is used to determine shoe size with x-rays is outlawed here, and anyone caught using one will be guilty of misdemeanor.

This law is enforced to stop people from being exposed to harmful radiation.

New Hampshire

You cannot collect seaweed at night as of 1973. If you do, it is a "violation" with an unspecified punishment.

New Mexico

Nudity is allowed, provided that male genitals are covered. Which means, you can go out naked, but not really naked, because you must be wearing a cloth or something. As for females, your nipples must be covered.

New York

It is unlawful for three or more people to be wearing masks at a public demonstration. This law excludes masquerade parties and similar events.

North Carolina

Bingo games cannot last more than 5 hours. Nobody really knows why this law was put into place. Guess it was to stop people from cashing in big.

North Dakota

You can't fall asleep with your shoes on in public. The punishment is unspecified.

Ohio

You can't fish for whales on Sunday. Where do you find whales in Ohio? Who knows?

Oklahoma

It is illegal for a female to do her own hair without a license by the state. I'm guessing that this law is not heavily enforced.

Oregon

Leaving a container of urine or fecal matter on the side of the road is Class A a misdemeanor. Why does this need to be a law? Isn't it common sense?

Pennsylvania

It is illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors. You may face a small fine. Again, who does that?

Rhode Island

Biting off someone' limb may land you 20 years behind bars, only if you maimed the victim on purpose.

South Carolina

Males over 16 can't suduce a woman by falsely promising to marry her. If he is convicted, he will be charged with misdemeanor, and face no more than one year behind bars.

This law has exceptions though. If the women is already married, or if she sleeps around, the male won't be charged with misdemeanor. If the woman takes the man to court, and the court can't correlate her testimony, the man will also walk free. No law exists with the gender roles reversed.

South Dakota

Farmers are allowed to set off fireworks to protect their sunflowers. Crows and other birds like to wreck their crops and this is a way of combating it. As long as you're not in a 600 foot radius of a school or other building, it is perfectly legal.

Tennessee

You're not allowed to hold hands with your partner while in school. Not sure if many will follow this rule, though.

Texas

You must acknowlege God if you wish to run for office. In other words, no athiests allowed.

Utah

You cannot hurl a missle at a bus or bus terminal, except "elected or appointed peace officers" or "commercial security personnel." Anyone outside those positions is convicted of a third-degree felony.

Vermont

A law was passed the prohibits the use of clotheslines. The same bill also prevents the banning of solar collectors, listing both items as "energy devices based on renewable resources,

Virginia

Not only is it illegal to have sex with the lights on, one may not have sex in any position other than missionary. It is classified as Class 4 misdemeanor.

Not sure why Virginia cares what position you have sex in, though.

Washington

All doors must open outwardly. Failure to do so and you may face a misdemeanor charge. Nobody is sure why this is a law, though.

Wisconsin

At one time, it was illegal to own margerine. But butter, it was totally fine.

Wyoming

In Wyoming, you can't "cut, sever, detach, or mutilate" more than one-half of a sheep's ear. Violations are felony offenses, punishable by up to five years in prison.

But if you want to cut off more than a half of a sheep's ear, go right ahead.

***

Which law was the dumbest? Which law was the funniest? Which law do you dislike? Comment it down below.

Dumb Laws in the United States

Sources:

https://www.dumblaws.com/

https://www.businessinsider.com/most-ridiculous-law-in-every-state-2014-2

0 5

Most Helpful Guy

  • "All doors must open outwardly"

    This is in case of fire. If there is a fire in a building, people are going to rush out all at the same time, if your doors open inward, the people pushing behind you will prevent you from opening the door and everybody will die. You should be able to find something similar in building codes.

    • Well, ask them why they do that. :P

    • Because when people are afraid, they become stupid 😊

    • Lol yeah true

Most Helpful Girl

  • *slowly puts down missile*

    Haha such a fun take!

    • :) Thank you.

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What Girls & Guys Said

11 22
  • I had a friend in Oklahoma that literally had a new hairstyle every single day for about 8 months straight... The color schemes started getting really creative.

    That law from Virginia, it's also still on the books in Georgia, though not enforced. The reason? A clear violation of the separation of church and state.

    • Yeah that's true.

  • Lol I actually took my time to read all of these

    • Lol I'm glad you did. :)

    • Thanks most the laws that are posted aren't really enforced. It seems as if it's to much work to take a law out of the books. So instead it's as if it doesn't exist. Common sense practices for the most part

    • Yeah I know. I was just looking off the sources. They're still pretty stupid though.

  • I thought the frog jumping one was the funniest. lol

    • Lol that was pretty funny.

  • *cancels the tickets for murika*

    • Lol. XD

  • The one quoted for Washington is very logical and is probably law in many states, or at least in many of the counties in the states. In the past crowds fleeing fires in buildings would come against door and because of the panicked people pressing behind them, they could not pull the doors in and many perished. So laws, or codes, require them to open outward. Very sensible!

    The one for Oregon is likely because of many long distance drivers (trucks) that are required to pull off and sleep after so many hours driving, and they want to get as many miles in as they can. So many of them do pee in bottles and there are those that will poop in containers also, so they don't have to find a truck stop to pull into and "waste time". Yeah, the poop thing sounded like crazy, but I have talked with truckers who know other drivers that do it.

    I also saw some other laws mentioned as dumb that also have good reasons for them. But yes, most are very strange.

    • Yeah, I agree.

    • I live in WA and I've always wondered why the doors went out, not in :P

    • Now you know. :-)

  • Michigan might be better off if it actually enforced that law. But where to begin? Why have a law like that, when you can't begin to enforce it?

    • Lol I dunno why everyone decided to read this suddenly. I wrote it like a year ago

    • It amazes me how long it takes sometimes for my stuff to get read. The fun stuff often gets ignored forever. But I write one little ditty on media bias over gun control vs gun rights, and everyone loses their minds.

    • Lol I know right? Happens to me too.

    • Show All
  • I can assure you that Michigan has not enforced that law ever in the time I have been in this great state. Which is all my life. But those laws are funny to read.

    • Lol thank you. I wasn't sure if it was enforced or not.

  • I read some of these in business class

    • Haha, cool.

  • In Massachusetts, you cannot have a gorilla in the back seat of your car.

    In South Carolina, you must stop 100 feet from all 4 way intersections and discharge a firearm before proceeding.

    • Woooow I haven't heard of those. 😂

  • I enjoyed Missouri's law.

    "I can assure you, officer, that I led my sheep in front of the train with the intent of killing the sheep, not hurting the train."

    • Haha, me too.

    • This may have been to prevent herders from using their sheep to block railroads in order to extort money from railroad companies. Of course, if one of your sheep was to veer of course and get hit by accident, you don't want to have to pay the price in addition to having lost a sheep...

  • Wasn't there a law in Oregon or something where it's illegal to drop an elephant out of an airplane? Lol.

    • Oh yeah. I saw that on the dumb law site. Lol. Who does that anyway?

    • Someone must have lol, yikes...

    • Lol who knows why

  • pretty much all of these laws are very old and not enforced at all.

    But it is still funny to think that there was a time when these laws made sense.

    Just remember, many of these laws HAD to be created because SOMEONE actually did this stuff. Then they said, "well its not illegal!" and so the government said "well it is now!" lol

    • Yep lol. :3

    • I bet you could get laws like this passed today if you donated to enough campaign funds.

  • I couldnt live in virgina or west virgina

    • I know both have pretty bad laws.

  • The one in Washington makes sense, since it's to prevent people to be stuck inside the building if anything happens. For example, if there's a fire everyone will ran to the exit, so if the doors open inwardly and everyone is pushing against the doors, this won't be able to open, while if it opens outwardly there'll be no problem.

    Besides that one, all the other laws are stupid especially Virginia's xD

    • Yeah true, and I know right? xD

  • Nothing for Kentucky

    I think you can't walk around with an ice cream cone in your pocket in Kentucky.
    Because that's how people stole horses.

    • I knew I forgot a state. :o Ohhhh well. Thanks for telling me.

  • Very nice MyTake thanks for sharing :) :D

    • You're welcome. :)

    • :D :)

  • They made fun of these ridiculous laws in the US in the Simpsons:
    "It's unlawful for a man to be hatless during daylight hours" and "Five kicks of the same can shall be considered illegally transporting litter"
    We also have a law that puts Flobert guns that were designed to be a toy gun in the same class as real firearms like a S&W 629 .44 Magnum (Flobert - 7,5J muzzle energy, .44 Magnum 1200J).

    • Oh yeah. I heard about that. :3

  • "Virginia- Not only is it illegal to have sex with the lights on, one may not have sex in any position other than missionary. It is classified as Class 4 misdemeanor."... I thought Virginia was for lovers?

    • Lol, they don't reenforce these laws.

  • What the actual fuck? Atheists aren't allowed to run for office here in Texas?
    Smh.

    • I know right? It's so dumb.

    • of course they are, and they do. The reason the law has never changed since its implementation more than 100 years ago in 1876 in the Texas constitution, is because no body has ever been denied political office on the basis of their religion in Texas. So therefore it hasn't been taken to court. Thats how all of these laws are, they are very old laws that are no longer enforced

    • they did declare the law un-enforcable in the 80s though because it violates the first ammendment. But again, not because it stopped anyone from holding office

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  • this is why i don't like america. people are freaks.

    • (This is Tinkerbell) hahaha this is awesome!

    • California A frog that dies during a frog-jumping competition can't be eaten. is this in respect of the frog

    • (This is Tinkerbell) its in respect for making awesome laws! :D

    • Show All
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