March 1, 2023
PUBLISHER’S CORNER
There Ought to be a Law!
By Eloise Graham
A few weeks ago there was quite an uproar about needing a law for police reform. This pertained to the four or five policemen that beat a person to death. The victim’s family wanted a law. While I definitely have sympathy and empathy for the family, I pondered: Isn’t there already various laws about assault and battery? Isn’t killing against the law? What would another law do? Who would enforce it? After all, the police are supposed to be the ones enforcing our laws.
I did a little more pondering. Why do we have laws? How did they come about and why? Well, Moses saw his people were being reckless and destructive. He cried out to God, and God gave him the 10 Commandments to live by. Since then man has made various laws to try for better living conditions and community.
But we must have a reason for some of our laws. Someone did something once and the public cried out, “There oughta be a law!” So I checked out some of the laws that our country has on its books. Then I tried to imagine why this law was made. Here are a few of our laws. Let your imagination figure out why we have them!
In Alaska, it is illegal to be drunk in a bar. People who are knowingly drunk cannot enter a bar. Also illegal in Alaska is viewing a moose from an airplane. (Is this a problem and a law needed to be made?) Also illegal is pushing a moose from a plane. It is illegal to wake a sleeping bear to take a picture of it. You must not take flamingos into a barbershop. (Oh, I think I understand now. If you are drunk, don’t go in the bar. Just hang out in airplanes, bear dens or barbershops.)
When in Arkansas, make sure you pronounce the name correctly, R CAN SAW is the only correct way! You can also be fined if you keep alligators in your bathtub. Teachers can not get a raise after bobbing their hair. (I have a feeling this law was done about 100 years ago during the Roaring Twenties.) Do not honk your horn at a sandwich shop after 9:00 p.m.
In Connecticut, a pickle must bounce to be considered a pickle! This State also claims it is illegal to keep town records where liquor is sold. Do not walk backward after sunset. And you can be arrested for crossing a street while walking on your hands! A beautician may not hum, sing or whistle while attending to a customer.
In Georgia, it is illegal to use utensils to eat fried chicken. In 2009, someone tried using a fork to eat their chicken and they were arrested. It is illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sunday. Never use profanity at a corpse in a funeral home. And never, ever keep a donkey in your bathtub!
Indiana has laws for black cats on Fridays the 13th. They must wear bells around their neck. This became a law in 1939. Don’t catch a fish with your bare hands. It is illegal to stand in a bar if you are a man.
If you are buried in Maine, make sure there is no advertising on your tombstone. It is illegal to step out of an airplane while it is flying. Don’t even think about playing the violin while strolling down the street.
In Maryland, never curse while driving. This could cost you a $100 fine. You can’t take a lion to the cinema. Wearing a sleeveless shirt in a public park is illegal.
In New York, uncut bagels are tax exempt, but once you slice them, add cream cheese or such they become a taxable item. (Things I thought were weird when we lived in New York now make sense!) Did you know it is illegal to talk or look at anyone while riding an elevator?
These are just a few of the laws created because someone yelled, “There ought to be a LAW!”
As for me, I will try to live by the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
