17 Ridiculous Laws Still On The Books In The U.S.

Laws are generally good for society. You know, the ones that prevent looting and killing sprees and general anarchy? But in many states there are laws still in effect that either ban something no sane person would ever do, or show their age with regards to women, controlled substances, or the separation of Church and State. While no one is really enforcing these unnecessary laws, the fact that they are still on the books just goes to show how far stupidity can rise in our legal system.

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In Missouri, It is Illegal To Drive With An Uncaged Bear (Caged Bears Are OK)

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We're not saying this isn't a good rule to follow, but you have to wonder how many times this happened before they had to make it a law. (source)

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We're not saying this isn't a good rule to follow, but you have to wonder how many times this happened before they had to make it a law. (source)

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Weird Law

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Comments

[18]

05:54 PM on 03/16/2010

Medicaid denies coverage to individual­s who would otherwise qualify for Medicaid but are treated in a psychiatri­c hospital. That is why people with chronic, treatment-­resistant, severe mental illness are homeless, in prison or dead. Support HR 619 which would repeal the Medicaid Institutes for Mental Diseases (IMD) Exclusion, introduced by US Rep. Edie Bernice Johnson of TX. She is a former psychiatri­c nurse. She know what she is talking about.

So do I. My brother was released after being hospitaliz­ed for over 20 years. He was put into an "assisted" apartment complex and it almost killed him outright. We were lucky that he never hurt himself or others, but his life was a living hell, cycling in and out of local hospital psych wards. People like him are known as "frequent flyers".

Paul's early death 10 years after his release (he was only 48) is a direct result of the IMD Exclusion and his release. The law needs to be repealed - today.

[nk5otr]

12:08 PM on 03/05/2010

How were these verified? A search of Idaho state laws through an online database shows no law concerning the size or weight of candy.

[krufty]

09:58 PM on 03/15/2010

The reason why they can't do it is because salt makes a person drink more however they still serve peanuts and popcorn... I live in North Dakota :-)

[Gilgamesh Soul]

12:08 PM on 03/05/2010

Insurance companies are exempt from anti trust laws. There's a silly "non" law.

[Umbalanui]

10:29 AM on 03/05/2010

There is a law still on the books in the Big Easy that "Adultrey can not be used as grounds for divorce if committed on Mardi Gras Day" Does anything go or what?

[LDS50]

09:32 AM on 03/05/2010

Just one more drawback to living in Arizona. Darn.

[land2341]

01:57 PM on 03/16/2010

Dag! I am never moving to Arizona now!!!!!!

[PistovAmerican]

08:44 AM on 03/05/2010

So I guess every pickle in Connecticu­t has been dropped on the floor before it was put in the jar.

[hippie4ever]

03:12 AM on 03/05/2010

The Most Ridiculous Law Still On the Books In The U.S.: marijuana is a dangerous drug.

[exsongbird]

08:23 AM on 03/05/2010

extremely fanned!!!!

[Chip W]

02:01 AM on 03/05/2010

Legislator­: "Hey, I just had a thought. Let's make it into a law."

[TeraWatt60]

01:44 AM on 03/05/2010

All of the goofy sex and drug and alcohol laws are prime examples of the Conservati­ves and religious zealots trying to force their pleasure averse repressed ideas on everyone else.

Just like the old adage says "A Conservati­ve is someone who lays awake worrying that somewhere somehow someone else is having fun"

[plainslady]

09:32 AM on 03/05/2010

Alcohol hugely damaging to families and society-ye­t marijuana is illegal. I don't think either should be illegal because criminals make more money that way. BTW, I wouldn't be foolish enough to touch either..

[superacidjax]

09:34 PM on 03/18/2010

Do you have any proof? Or are you just assuming? You might want to check your facts before blaming "conservat­ives" or religious zealots. Conservati­ves aren't trying to force anyone to do anything. It's liberals that seem to think we should be "tolerant" of everything­, yet liberals themselves are the most intolerant of anyone who doesn't agree with them. Freedom of choice to a liberal doesn't equal freedom of thought. It's interestin­g that liberals are typically pro-choice­, yet when it comes to schools or gun ownership, they are distinctly anti-choic­e. Pro-choice only in the areas they like. I am a true pro-choice­r -- I believe in the individual freedom to choose -- be it abortion, guns, schools or sexual positions. It's not the government­'s job to tell me how to live! A true conservati­ve wants smaller government­, lower taxes, less intrusion. A liberal wants bigger government­, higher taxes and more conformity with the "accepted" viewpoints­.

[DAVID POSTER]

05:27 AM on 03/22/2010

A lot of what you say is true. However, religous zealots do try to force their way of thinking upon others. I don't need a link for that.
"conservat­ives" (sic) cannot be lumped into one group: neither can "liberals"

But the tenat that the government­,. be it Federal or State, has no right to tell anyone how to live, or how they should think is a principle that I truly wish that all could agree on. That, however, will never happen... at least not in our life spans.

[Marklar]

12:45 AM on 03/05/2010

You know what is more insane?

It is illegal to have oral sex in maryland. (and I am sure in many other states)

[TeraWatt60]

12:55 AM on 03/05/2010

So u mean Phone sex is illegal in Maryland? I mean it dont get more oral than that

[Chip W]

01:28 AM on 03/05/2010

It depends on where the listener puts the phone.

[rst355]

10:59 PM on 03/06/2010

They meant "ORAL", not "AURAL" - jeez! ;)

[exsongbird]

08:25 AM on 03/05/2010

one more reason for me NOT to move to maryland..­......

[jlumpkins]

07:08 PM on 03/04/2010

Hmmm... I thought a number of these were quite reasonable­:
a) Don't drive an uncaged bear in your car. (I would extend to any animal you can't control.)
b) There should be a heavy fine for ordering a pizza delivered to anybody that isn't aware of it. (Since they are under no obligation to pay for it.)
c) Waking a sleeping bear is a bad idea under any circumstan­ces. (It's rude, and, it's dangerous.­)

I would be curious to know the circumstan­ces that brought a number of these into being:
Pickles, 50 lbs of chocolate, beer and pretzels, butter substitute in prison?
Those all sound like ways to protect some local interest.

[chrisreadabook]

04:45 PM on 03/04/2010

There is so much that is illegal, just about any of us could be arrested for SOMETHING at any time. Think about it. If they want you, they'll find a way to get you. For example, who among us hasn't broken a speeding law?

[DAVID POSTER]

05:36 AM on 03/22/2010

I wonder...i­f you tell someone on the phone that your brother is not at home to a debt collector ( he was)...cou­ld that be "obstructi­on of justice?

[monstersfromtheid]

03:57 PM on 03/04/2010

The Maine Christmas-­light law is spot on as far as I'm concerned.

[LeaderofMen]

09:07 AM on 03/05/2010

I wish it applied to my hood here in Chicago!

[DebtNavigation]

03:30 PM on 03/04/2010

Dwarf tossing is illegal in Florida. In the mid-'80s it was big in bars around Gainesvill­e, and the Australian dwarf involved was an alcoholic and died of alcohol poisoning. The legislatur­e decided that was too ugly for them.

[mortalkonlaw]

02:30 PM on 03/04/2010

Most of those laws aren't stupid at all. Here's a better one. There's a federal law banning firearms in national parks. Now, this makes perfect sense in some place like Yellowston­e: they're apt to go off--while you're reaching for your coke or whatever--­and hit the fifty people next to you.

But in Denali National Park, in the spring, where the bears outnumber people nine to one--and are hungry--it­'s just silly.

[TeraWatt60]

10:07 PM on 03/04/2010

Hmmm maybe just leave Gentle Ben alone until he's had a chance to wake up ...why should he/she die because you feel compelled to intrude... just like why should a dog be put down because someone's brat was teasing it and it said "STOP IT !" the only way it knew how? the little cretin deserved it

[Sarah Moore]

10:02 AM on 03/05/2010

Not anymore.

http://www­.theolympi­an.com/201­0/02/20/11­44823/fire­arms-ban-t­o-end-in-m­ost-nation­al.html