Molesting Females in West Virginia

An ordinance in Bluefield, West Virginia is worded interestingly enough to simply quote, with no commentary.

"Sec. 14-26. Molesting females.
It shall be unlawful for any male person to make improper advances or indecent remarks or impertinently seek to attract the attention of any female person upon the streets or in public places.
(Code 1958, Part 7, Art. 23, § 4; Ord. of 9-22-64)"

Look Away, Dixie Land

Mississippi law still makes desecration of a Confederate flag a crime. (Miss. Code Ann., Sec. 97-7-39)

This may still be on the books, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that such laws are unenforceable under the First Amendment. Old times there may not be forgotten, but some might as well be.

Loitering Near a Funeral?

§ 272:42A of the general laws of Massachusetts is designed to outlaw disturbing a funeral. Good idea, right? The language used also prohibits "loitering" within five hundred feet of a building where a funeral is being held. You can face a fine of up to $1000 or up to a year in prison or both for violating this law.

Do I think the penalty is appropriate for people who picket or otherwise intentionally disturb a funeral? Absolutely! Do I think this is appropriate for someone who loiters too close? About as much as I think someone would actually be arrested and prosecuted for loitering too close to a funeral.

Protecting Dead Animals

Warning: Some people will not think this is silly at all; others will shake their heads in disbelief. Like Fox News, I'll report, you decide.

According to California law (Cal. Educ. Code § 32255.1), "any pupil with a moral objection to dissecting or otherwise harming or destroying animals, or any parts thereof," may be allowed to use an alternate form of instruction that does not involve damaging the (presumably) already-dead animal.

Many a student may have objected to dissecting a frog in school, but I've never heard of one that objected on moral grounds.

No Minors in Pool Halls

Minors under 19 years old are not permitted to enter pool halls in Preston, Idaho (Ordinances Section 9.76.010). Section 9.76.030 states that "It is unlawful for any minor under the age of twenty (20) years within the city to resort to, or frequent any pool hall, within the city."

So, 18 or under cannot even enter a pool hall, and 19-year-olds cannot resort to or frequent one. What exactly does it mean to "resort to" a pool hall? And how do they determine what constitutes frequenting a pool hall? Once a week? Every other day? And who's supposed to keep track of every 19-year-old that comes in?

Cross-Dressers Beware

In Baker, Montana, it is a crime for a man to appear in public wearing women's clothing. (Ordinance 9.32.040).

Just to be fair, the ordinance does make it a crime to appear in public "in a dress not belonging to his or her sex," so a woman dressed like a man would be just as guilty.

Save Us From Helium Balloons

Bluefield, West Virginia, has an ordinance(Sec. 14-45) prohibiting the release of five or more helium balloons in a twenty-four hour period by one person or a group of people. You'd better tie that string on tight if your baby has ballons in Bluefield! The penalty is a fine of NOT LESS THAN $50, nor more than $500.

Protecting Inmates from Snowballs

In Augusta, Maine, you may not throw a snowball at a house with the intent to "disturb the inmates thereof." (Ordinances Sec. 13-19) Odd choice of words. I hope it was not someone's idea of an insult to the residents of Augusta!

(FYI - the actual wording of this section is as follows: "No person shall throw any dirt, stones, bricks, snowballs or any other substance against any dwelling house or other private or public building, with intention to injure the same, or to disturb the inmates thereof, nor shall any person be present, aiding and abetting the same." - so you can't help someone throw snowballs at a house, either, unless there is no intent to cause damage or bother "the inmates.")

Fixing a Dumb Problem in California

According to the Los Angeles Times (11/02/10), the State of California is removing a number of ATMs and point-of-sale card readers from the system that accepts EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) cards. These are debit cards given to welfare recipients instead of the old fashioned welfare check and food stamps. They reduce the stigma attached to welfare, and provide tracking information to the government.

So why are businesses and ATMs being removed from the network? Let's see, more than $16,000 has been accessed from cruise ships, and nearly $12 Million has been accessesed from Las Vegas. This money is for the poor to feed, clothe, and house themselves. So where can the cards no longer be used? Medical marijuana shops, psychics, massage parlors, bail bond establishments, bingo halls, gun shops, bars, race tracks, smoking shops, tattoo parlors, and on cruise ships. (Casinos and poker rooms were taken out of the system in June.)

So why were these places allowed to dispense cash or services for welfare recipients in the first place?

No Keg at Home?

Bannock County, Idaho Ordinances of 1988-4 § 1 (Codified as 5.08.020), says that it is unlawful to possess a keg of beer without a permit from the Sheriff. There are a few exceptions, one of which is "other lawful purposes within Bannock County." I wonder if wanting to drink the beer would be considered an "other lawful purpose."

It only applies to kegs of 7-1/2 gallons or larger, so my presumption is that this is a way to regulate bars in the county. Lawyers must have been involved, because the next section says that the court can infer that a keg contains beer if the witnesses say it contains beer or if it is labeled as beer. Okay, so if there's a big keg with a Miller label on it, somebody felt they should authorize a judge to infer that it contains beer?

Alcohol Sales - Not as Silly as it Looks

In Massachusetts, § 138:33B of the General Code states that towns may authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages between 11 a.m. and 12 noon "on Sundays, the last Monday in May and on Christmas day or on the day following when said day occurs on Sunday."

Taken by itself, out of context, this seems like an incredibly silly law. Sale of alcohol for one hour? Taken in context, this is not really a silly law. Massachusetts statutes basically prohibit the sale of hooch on Sunday mornings or the mornings of the other listed days. So this is really just an exception that allows localities to extend their hours on specific days.

Just goes to show that a silly-sounding law may make perfect sense when taken in context.

No Snowballs at Trees

In Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, it is unlawful to throw a snowball at a tree. Huh????

The actual language of Code Section 160-1, Prohibited Acts, states: "(8) To throw any stone, snowball or any other object upon or at any vehicle, building, tree or other public or private property . . ."

Maybe Bensalem has unusually hard snow . . .

Begging Permit?

In Bluefield, West Virginia, begging is unlawful as an occupation unless you get a permit to solicit donations. (Code Section 14-7) The next section of the municipal code (14-8) provides, however, that this does not apply to "any handicapped person who followed the occupation of beginning(sic) in the city regularly and continually prior to April 14, 1959."

These ordinances were passed in 1961, and left a few questions. I wonder who the handicapped beggar was that the city fathers wanted to protect? Besides, how much does a begging permit cost? Is a beggar considered a professional fund raiser? What if he's not good at it? Is he an amateur beggar if he doesn't actually get any donations? He would still need a permit, since he is soliciting donations, but probably would not have the money for a permit. So is he violating the law if he begs for the money to buy a begging permit? Enquiring minds . . . probably couldn't care much less, truth be told.