Stupid Laws By Stupid Politicians By State

More times than we would like to remember we have discussed the reality that American politicians are not smart enough, dedicated enough, or industrious enough to understand root causes of problems facing Americans today. As a result, they either put forth remedies that make a current problem worse or they focus on solving problems that no one really cares about.

This reality really comes into focus when you consider a recent article on the Self Reliance Central website. They went to the trouble of researching and determining the dumbest state or local laws in every state. I have pulled out some of the most ridiculous ones and listed them below.

When reading these inane laws, ask yourself if that is the type of effort and problems you wanted the local politicians to focus on when they were elected. I am assuming that the politicians that put forth effort to enact these types of nonsense did not fix the schools in their state or city. They did not get their broken infrastructure repaired. They did not resolve the problems of drug addictions of their citizens or get crime under control.

Instead they worked on the following non-problems:

• In Alaska it is legal to convert a picnic table or bench into a boat as long it has life preservers and is legally registered as a boat.
• In Arizona it is illegal for donkey to sleep in a bathtub. Really?
• In Arkansas it is somehow illegal if you mispronounce the state’s name.
• It is against the law to eat a frog in California who died during a “frog jumping contest.” Did not know that frog jumping was so big in that state.
• In Florida, pregnant pigs must be allowed to roam freely and not penned up during their pregnancy term. This law applies only to pigs and is actually enshrined in the state’s Constitution.
• In Pocatello, Idaho, it is illegal to be out in public and NOT smile, according to a 1948 city ordinance.
• In Illinois anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 can legally drink if they are currently enrolled in a culinary program. I would bet that culinary programs are big in Illinois.
• In Indiana it is illegal to have a hypnotist work on you unless you have a doctor’s referral or you are trying to lose weight or stop smoking.
• In Topeka, Kansas, it is illegal to scream in a haunted house.
• In Kentucky it is illegal to dye a duckling blue and put it up for sale….unless more than six ducklings are being sold at one time. Would love to know the thought process that said one is bad but six is okay.
• In Louisiana you can be fined $500 if you instruct a pizza delivery person to deliver a pizza to someone without them knowing it was coming.
• In Massachusetts it is illegal to have targets at shooting ranges that are in the shape of humans.
• In Minnesota it is illegal to grease up a pig if the purpose of greasing the pig up is to try and capture it. Party poopers in that state.
• In Mississippi a woman can go to jail if she delivers two illegitimate children, either at the same time or at different times.
• It is illegal in Missouri to remove mattress tags (horrors!) or bring an unlabeled mattress into the state.
• In Reno, Nevada, it is illegal to lie down on a public sidewalk.
• New Hampshire, it is illegal to gather up seaweed on a beach during night hours, I am assuming it is okay to do it during the day
• In New Jersey, it is illegal to wear a bulletproof vest while murdering, kidnapping, robbing, or raping. Which raises the obvious question, where and when is it legal to wear your bulletproof vest?
• In North Carolina it is illegal to use a secret handshake to agree to or do illegal things. Can we assume the crime rate plummeted once secret handshakes were outlawed?
• In North Dakota it is illegal to attempt or perform human cloning in the state. I wonder if that is a big problem up there, successful human cloning?
• In Oklahoma it is illegal to participate in horse tripping in way or form, with the penalty being a $2,000 fine or one year in jail. Again, did horse tripping crime rates go way down once this law was passed?
• If you are a convicted felon you are not allowed to operate a bingo game in the state of Pennsylvania. Because so many felons like to operate bingo games?
• In South Carolina it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to play pinball. Maybe these S.C. youth should move to Illinois where they can enroll in a culinary class which allows them to drink alcohol AND play pinball.
• In Texas, the state constitution says an atheist cannot hold any public office.
• In Vermont, it is illegal to dress a horse up in a disguise or to disguise it as something other than a horse. Why would anyone want to dress up and disguise their horse?
• In West Virginia it is illegal to use a ferret to hunt any kind of wild animal. I did not know ferrets could do that, even though it is illegal in West Virginia.
• In Wisconsin it is illegal to serve margarine in restaurants (unless a customer asks for it) or in prisons unless the margarine is going to be used for medical purposes. I am curious to know what possible medical purpose margarine serves.

The entire list of every state can be accessed at:

www.selfreliancecentral.com

So the next time you realize your kids are not getting a good education, that you hit three pot holes on your way to work, that crime is out of control, keep in mind that your elected representatives are hard at work putting forth and wasting their time and your tax dollars enacting the above ludicrous laws. Term limits anyone?

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

www.loathemygovernment.com

It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:


http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w