Today’s big government is a typical display of bureaucracy in its most creative state. Due to the enormous bureaucracy within today’s state governments, many laws have been passed through legislation that really didn’t need to be passed. These laws are a display of the way government likes to show power over the people using legal suppression. Governments have created laws governing almost anything that the people do as an act of blatant suppression, even if the laws may never be enforced.
While reviewing many law books, I found many laws that seem to do nothing but annoy the general population. These laws and ordinances are used by the government to show power without having to confront any particular person who might have been affected. These legal suppressors are unlikely to be enforced by local law enforcement agencies. In Alabama, it is legal to drive a motor vehicle while blindfolded. Most people in our nation would not choose to drive with a blindfold on. However, the Alabama state government passed the no driving while blindfolded” law to assert its power.
Alabama is not the only state with laws that seem useless. In California, community leaders passed an ordinance that makes it illegal for anyone to try to stop a child from playfully jumping over puddles of water. The fine for such a crime is fifty dollars, and the offender may face up to ten days in jail. Once again, the government decided it didn’t have enough power and thought that it might as well impose a new law to show its “immense” power over the people.
In Connecticut, you can be stopped by the police for bike riding over sixty-five miles an hour. You can also be arrested for walking across a street on your hands. However, these laws will probably not be enforced due to the fact that the odds of biking over sixty-five miles an hour or walking across a street on one’s hands seem unlikely. Florida may be one of the most creative legal suppressors in the United States. One law reads, Women may be fined up to 150 dollars if they fall asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.”
Another law states that if an elephant is tied to a parking meter, the parking fee must be paid, just as it would be for a vehicle. In Florida, there is a special law that prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sundays, risking arrest, fines, or even jail time. Men are also prohibited from wearing strapless gowns in public, with fines of up to seventy-five dollars. Additionally, it is illegal to sing in public while wearing a swimsuit in Sarasota, Florida. These laws and ordinances demonstrate the suppressive attitude of the Florida state government.
In some states, the act of suppression is shown in the control of personal activities. For instance, citizens are not allowed to attend a movie house or theatre, nor ride any form of public transportation within at least four hours after eating garlic in the state of Indiana. Another act of personal suppression by the government is the Iowa state law that states, Kisses may last for as much as, but no more than, five minutes.” One is not allowed to transport an ice cream cone in one’s pocket or one can be arrested in the state of Kentucky. New Mexico also has its form of personal suppression in the form of a law that states, “Females are strictly forbidden to appear unshaven in public.”
Massachusetts has an array of suppressive laws involving its citizens. One such law states that mourners at a wake may not eat more than three sandwiches. Another law makes snoring a crime unless all bedroom windows are closed and securely locked. If one wants to wear a goatee, a special five-dollar permit must be purchased to wear it in public. In New York, a fine of twenty-five dollars can be imposed on any citizen who flirts.
Some laws and ordinances seem like jokes. One instance is that it is illegal to rob a bank and shoot at the bank teller with a water pistol in Louisiana. In the state of Indiana, it is illegal for anyone to bathe during winter. Another almost comical law states that it is illegal for any person to give lit cigars to dogs, cats, or any animal.
