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Bocefish

I did bad things, privileges revoked!
In the Dog House
Mar 26, 2010
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Usually somewhere between flippant and glib.
Another thread reminded me of this site. http://www.dumblaws.com

Some seriously archaic and funny laws are still on the books everywhere. Look up your state or country for some laughs. For example, when you are released from prison in Canada, it is required that you are given a handgun with bullets and a horse, so you can ride out of town. In Alabama it's illegal to flick boogers in the wind.

In Australia only licensed electricians may change a light bulb and it is illegal to wear hot pink pants after midday Sunday. :lol:
 
Why is this a law in Tennessee?

"You can’t shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile."

Sad to say I can understand this one

"It is legal to gather and consume roadkill."

and I can't believe this is still on the books

"Interracial marriages are illegal."
 
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Heres a few I found from England that have never been repealed:

Placing a postage stamp bearing the monarch’s head upside down on an envelope is considered as act of treason.

Dying in the Houses of Parliament is illegal. This is apparently to prevent the enforcement of another law which states that anyone dying in the Houses of Parliament is entitled to a state funeral.

Since 1313, MPs are not allowed to don armor in Parliament.

The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen

In the stunning city of York it is still legal to shoot a Scotsman with a bow and arrow, on all days except Sundays.

A BLOODHOUND is the only animal in the world whose evidence is admissible in a court of law.

:lol:
 
LOL.. Texas has more than its share ....
I'll start with the one that might be the most relevant here... :mrgreen:

Dallas: It’s illegal to possess realistic dildos.

In Dallas County it is illegal to own any realistic looking, phallic shaped, personal massager more than one foot in length.

It is illegal to carry a pair of wire-cutters in your back pocket.

Borger: It is against the law to throw confetti, rubber balls, feather dusters, whips or quirts (riding crop), and explosive firecrackers of any kind.

In Kingsville, there is a law against two pigs having sex on the city’s airport property.

Texas criminals are required to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed. {{LMAO.. doesnt ever work for some reason.}

In Texas it’s legal for a chicken to have sex with you, but it’s illegal to reciprocate.

It is legal for a husband to beat his wife as long as he uses something no bigger than his thumb. {seriously? WTF?}

It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone.

In Texas any artificial constructed underwater barrier reefs must come with an instruction booklet.

Texarkana: Owners of horses may not ride them at night without tail lights.


Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos.
CHAPTER 43. PUBLIC INDECENCY
SUBCHAPTER B. OBSCENITY
43.23. Obscenity
(f) A person who possesses six or more obscene devices or identical or similar obscene articles is presumed to possess them with intent to promote the same.
----> Acts of 1973, 63rd Leg <------ idiots had nothing better to do than think about the wifes toys.
 
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hence the rule of thumb law was created. (quote) v
It is legal for a husband to beat his wife as long as he uses something no bigger than his thumb. {seriously? WTF?}

Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos.
CHAPTER 43. PUBLIC INDECENCY
SUBCHAPTER B. OBSCENITY
43.23. Obscenity
(f) A person who possesses six or more obscene devices or identical or similar obscene articles is presumed to possess them with intent to promote the same.
----> Acts of 1973, 63rd Leg <------ idiots had nothing better to do than think about the wifes toys.
^
I think they were scared their wives would be able to do without them if they had more than 1 realistic phallic shaped item.
 
SoTxBob said:
LOL.. Texas has more than its share ....
I'll start with the one that might be the most relevant here... :mrgreen:

Dallas: It’s illegal to possess realistic dildos.

In Dallas County it is illegal to own any realistic looking, phallic shaped, personal massager more than one foot in length.

It is illegal to carry a pair of wire-cutters in your back pocket.

Borger: It is against the law to throw confetti, rubber balls, feather dusters, whips or quirts (riding crop), and explosive firecrackers of any kind.

In Kingsville, there is a law against two pigs having sex on the city’s airport property.

Texas criminals are required to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed. {{LMAO.. doesnt ever work for some reason.}

In Texas it’s legal for a chicken to have sex with you, but it’s illegal to reciprocate.

It is legal for a husband to beat his wife as long as he uses something no bigger than his thumb. {seriously? WTF?}

It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone.

In Texas any artificial constructed underwater barrier reefs must come with an instruction booklet.

Texarkana: Owners of horses may not ride them at night without tail lights.


Up to a felony charge can be levied for promoting the use of, or owning more than six dildos.
CHAPTER 43. PUBLIC INDECENCY
SUBCHAPTER B. OBSCENITY
43.23. Obscenity
(f) A person who possesses six or more obscene devices or identical or similar obscene articles is presumed to possess them with intent to promote the same.
----> Acts of 1973, 63rd Leg <------ idiots had nothing better to do than think about the wifes toys.

I was going to post a few of those, I also thought the law that requires a candidate for public office believe in a supreme being was a bit ridiculous:

The Texas Constitution
Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 4 - RELIGIOUS TESTS
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.
 
Your duck may not go parading down Ohio Avenue.

And of course, there was a point in time in Ohio that fisting was illegal, but beastiality was not (officially). So we always made the joke that you can fuck your dog, but you can't fist your wife.
 
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Some gems from my grand old state of Iowa.


-- One-armed piano players must perform for free.

-- It is a violation of the law to sell or distribute drugs or narcotics without having first obtained the appropriate Iowa drug tax stamp. (So we can sell drugs apparently so long as we pay taxes on them first? o_O)

-- Kisses may last for no more than five minutes.

-- Ministers must obtain a permit to carry their liquor across state lines.

-- In Cedar Rapids, IA only: It is illegal to read persons palms in the city limits.
 
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Ahh Montana you sure are funny:

It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone.

It is a felony for a wife to open her husband’s mail.

It is a misdemeanor to show movies that depict acts of felonious crime.

In Montana, it is illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sundays, and illegal for unmarried women to fish alone at all.

It is illegal for a man and a woman to have sex in any other position other than missionary style.

Seven or more indians are considered a raiding or war party and it is legal to shoot them.
In billings:
No person shall raise pet rats.

Persons in possession of a “pea shooter” risk it being conviscated by police.

It is illegal to bring a bomb or rocket at city council proceedings.

Hard objects may not be thrown by hand.

Worrying squirrels will not be tolerated.

Balls may not be thrown within the city limits.
 
Frankie said:
-- It is a violation of the law to sell or distribute drugs or narcotics without having first obtained the appropriate Iowa drug tax stamp. (So we can sell drugs apparently so long as we pay taxes on them first? o_O)

This is a separate charge they add to people caught selling drugs. The IRS expects you to report and pay taxes on all of your illegal profits as well.
 
Shaun__ said:
Frankie said:
-- It is a violation of the law to sell or distribute drugs or narcotics without having first obtained the appropriate Iowa drug tax stamp. (So we can sell drugs apparently so long as we pay taxes on them first? o_O)

This is a separate charge they add to people caught selling drugs. The IRS expects you to report and pay taxes on all of your illegal profits as well.

:lol:
 
There is a law in Austin TX, which was enacted in the early 90's. It is referred to as the city camping ordinance, but has little to do with camping, but rather a tool that allows APD to arrest anyone who might be found sleeping in allies, bus stops, etc. (namely the homeless - Austin's attempt to drive the homeless population from sight, or lock them up)

And on Dildos and TEXAS
 
camstory said:
There is a law in Austin TX, which was enacted in the early 90's. It is referred to as the city camping ordinance, but has little to do with camping, but rather a tool that allows APD to arrest anyone who might be found sleeping in allies, bus stops, etc. (namely the homeless - Austin's attempt to drive the homeless population from sight, or lock them up)

And on Dildos and TEXAS

This isn't just Austin. I grew up in the Hill Country (Center Point/Kerrville) and was homeless for on and off four years. It's illegal there as well. And at one time I've been harassed by law enforcement in SA and Houston, but not sure if it's officially illegal in either of those places.
 
My favorites from the list for SC.

- By law, if a man promises to marry an unmarried woman, the marriage must take place.
- Musical instruments may not be sold on Sunday. (We have a lot of similar "Blue Laws" especially in certain counties)
- It is considered an offense to get a tattoo.
- Horses may not be kept in bathtubs.
- A permit must be obtained to fire a missle.
- When approaching a four way or blind intersection in a non-horse driven vehicle you must stop 100 ft from the intersection and discharge a firearm into the air to warn horse traffic.
- It is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays.
- Every adult male must bring a rifle to church on Sunday in order to ward off Indian attacks.
- A person must be eighteen years old to play a pinball machine.
 
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Here's two favourites from the UK:

It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing.
 
Mirra said:
My favorites from the list for SC.

- By law, if a man promises to marry an unmarried woman, the marriage must take place.
- Musical instruments may not be sold on Sunday. (We have a lot of similar "Blue Laws" especially in certain counties)
- It is considered an offense to get a tattoo.
- Horses may not be kept in bathtubs.
- A permit must be obtained to fire a missle.
- When approaching a four way or blind intersection in a non-horse driven vehicle you must stop 100 ft from the intersection and discharge a firearm into the air to warn horse traffic.
- It is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays.
- Every adult male must bring a rifle to church on Sunday in order to ward off Indian attacks.
- A person must be eighteen years old to play a pinball machine.

I'd like to see the bathtub big enough to hold the average horse.
 
In Chicago there are red light cameras everywhere to collect revenue and street cams in certain areas to help deter crime... only 36 shootings last weekend so they are working well. :roll: Anyhow, ironically enough, it is a class 1 felony to record a LEO in public without them knowing it.
 
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sweetiebatman said:
Heres a few I found from England that have never been repealed:

Placing a postage stamp bearing the monarch’s head upside down on an envelope is considered as act of treason.
Here placing any postage stamp upside down is a proclamation of ones love, and upside down and tilted, a marriage proposal, if your corresponding with someone in prison that is. Or is it the other way around? I don't remember it has been a while since I fell in love with and proposed to a prisoner. :lol:
Even in prison the indigent are treated with less respect. Their only means of sending mail is by using pre stamped prison issued envelops, thus taking away their abbility to propose marriage, or even love. :icon-cry:

Back on subject, a bit.
Bocefish said:
Anyhow, ironically enough, it is a class 1 felony to record a LEO in public without them knowing it.
It was only now as I came to quote this and ask for an explanation, that I believe I figured her out. I first had some fun substituting all manner of thing for LEO, such as, lion, one born 7/23-8/22, the owner of an adult web cam sight, (and along those lines), a crook, a scum bag, a con artist, a large animated turd.
"Quick turn off the camera, here comes a large walking turd." :lol:

I think I now have figured out that LEO is Law Enforcement Officer. Sometimes you have to help the dumb guy along, other times he manages to muddle through.

(PS. I mostly do not make derogatory statements about those whom I do not know personally. I would love it if someone had evidence to refute the above characterization of Leo Radvinsky MFC owner. I don't like the fact that I am helping a rich scum bag get richer.)
 
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Regarding the "Rule of Thumb" myth:

From Word Origins:

The phrase is almost certainly an allusion to the fact that the first joint an adult thumb measures roughly one inch, literally a rule (or ruler) of thumb. Since human dimensions vary, any measurement so taken would be only a rough approximation and not to be trusted where precision was required.

And then goes on to explain:

There is a false legend that has attached itself to the phrase. It says that the original rule of thumb appeared in English Common Law. The alleged law said that it was illegal for a man to beat his wife with a stick that was thicker than his thumb. Beating her with smaller sticks was permitted, and in some regions encouraged, to keep the woman in her place.

While the belief that such a legal doctrine existed is quite old, the specific claim that the phrase rule of thumb comes from such a legal doctrine is quite recent, appearing in feminist texts starting in the 1970s. From Del Martin’s 1976 Battered Wives:

For instance, the common-law doctrine had been modified to allow the husband “the right to whip his wife, provided that he used a switch no bigger than his thumb"—a rule of thumb, so to speak.

Wife-beating has been illegal in much of the United States since before it was the United States. The Massachusetts Bay Company outlawed it in 1655 and by the late 1800s just about everywhere else did, too.

Additionally, The Straight Dope had this to say:

"Rule of thumb" doesn't refer to wife beating. I know it looks like I'm on some sort of rabid antifeminist crusade here. But at least we'll keep the etymologies straight.

Christina Hoff Sommers explains the whole confused business in her 1994 book Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women. For more than 300 years "rule of thumb" has meant what most people think it means: any rough-and-ready method of estimating. It's believed to have originated with woodworkers, who made measurements with their thumbs. For more than 20 years, however, some feminists have maintained that rule of thumb has the darker meaning alluded to above. They say that the principle of regulated wife beating was elucidated in the famous legal commentaries of William Blackstone (1723-'80), the basis of much U.S. common law, and that it prevailed in state courts well into the 19th century.

They explain further that while this has never been law (...anywhere, as far as anybody can tell), there are several court cases in which the defendant(s) claimed:

It was cited in two court rulings, one in Mississippi in 1824, the other in North Carolina in 1874. Both judges referred to an "ancient law" by which a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick provided it was no wider than his thumb. Where the judges came up with the thumb angle I don't know; as I say, it is not found in Blackstone. At any rate, both judges rejected the principle--each found the husband guilty in the wife-beating case he was adjudicating. And neither referred to the old law as the rule of thumb.

In closing, from Word Origins again,

So, what we have is a single English judge who in 1782 (probably) held that a man could beat his wife with a stick narrower than his thumb. But, despite belief to the contrary, this was never an established legal principle and is certainly not the origin of the phrase.

And then from The Phrase Finder:
The origin of the phrase remains unknown. It is likely that it refers to one of the numerous ways that thumbs have been used to estimate things - judging the alignment or distance of an object by holding the thumb in one's eye-line, the temperature of brews of beer, measurement of an inch from the joint to the nail to the tip, or across the thumb, etc. The phrase joins the whole nine yards as one that probably derives from some form of measurement but which is unlikely ever to be definitively pinned down. The Germans have a similar phrase to indicate a rough approximation - 'pi mal daumen' which translates as 'pi [3.14…] times thumb'.

Sources:
http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/more/489/
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/rea ... fe-beating
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rule-of-thumb.html

Additional Reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb

So, yes. People have believed for a very long time that this is/was a law, but the evidence does not suggest anything other than the fact that people, in various places and at various times, thought it was a law — and mostly, laughed at it.


...sorry, I am an etymology geek. :oops:
 
But here's a gem of a hilarous law from Chapter 9.60.030 of the Chico Municipal Code (Chico, CA):

9.60.030 Prohibition on the production, testing, maintenance and storage of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.

No person shall produce, test, maintain, or store within the city a nuclNo person shall produce, test, maintain, or store within the city a nuclear weapon, component of a nuclear weapon, nuclear weapon delivery system, or component of a nuclear weapon delivery system.
(Ord. 1564 §2 (part).

:dance:
 
morment said:
I was going to post a few of those, I also thought the law that requires a candidate for public office believe in a supreme being was a bit ridiculous:

The Texas Constitution
Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 4 - RELIGIOUS TESTS
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.

Well, i feel like running for office, and I believe in a supreme being

http://www.venganza.org/
 
In Urbana, Ill. Monsters must be licensed!

This one has grown to legendary status online in various forms along the lines of "Monsters are not allowed inside the city limits of Urbana." But that's not entirely true: Monsters are allowed; they just need to be licensed.

The basis for this strange city requirement can be found in an act from 1872, which states that "exhibitions of freaks of nature or monsters" staged for profit within city limits must first receive a license from the city clerk.
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In Clinton, Indiana no baths were allowed in the winter

In the mid-1800s, laws regulating when and how people could bathe were all the rage.

In Boston, people were prohibited from bathing on Sundays, and a doctor's note was needed on other days. Florida and Portland, Ore., once had laws requiring bathers to wear a bathing suit or other clothing. And Virginia law forbade bathtubs in the house, relegating them to the yard instead.

At that time most doctors thought that people became sick when they got wet or chilled. With some researchers calling for more frequent baths to wash away germs, doctors disagreed and pushed for the bathtub laws.

If you do bathe -- and find yourself in Pennsylvania while doing so -- just don't sing in the tub. That used to be illegal too.
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In Lexington, KY. you can't have ice cream cones in your back pocket.

You might think it strange today that lawmakers would seek to protect you from a melty mess in your jeans, but there once was a good reason for such laws.

Besides Lexington, this was also once the law of the land in states such as Alabama and Georgia. The reason? Very simple: To stop people from stealing horses.

As anyone who's ever seen a western can attest, horse thieves were just about the lowest no good, dirty, rotten scoundrels around. Some sunk even lower by using the promise of a pocket ice cream treat to lure horses away. If caught, they could always claim the horse simply followed them home.

You can lead a horse to ice cream, and not only make it eat it, but give it a brain freeze in the process. A cold and sticky butt isn't ideal today, but it was once apparently a small price to pay for a gently used horse.

http://www.clickorlando.com/entertainme ... index.html
 
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There was an episode of Oz where the narrator (Harold Perrineau Jr.) was talking about ridiculous state laws. One of the laws stated that a husband may beat his wife IF..... (I don't remember...lol). When I watch that episode again on dvd, I'll try to come back to this thread and post exactly what was said.
 
These archaic laws reminds me of the now-legendary attempt by legislators in Indiana to establish scientific fact by passing a law. This was in 1897, but now we see similar attempts by legislatures to establish religious-based thought to scientific discourse via "Creationism" and now "Intelligent Design." Does humanity really become civilized ever?


The Indiana Pi Bill is the popular name for bill #246 of the 1897 sitting of the Indiana General Assembly, one of the most famous attempts to establish scientific truth by legislative fiat. Despite that name, the main result claimed by the bill is a method to square the circle, rather than to establish a certain value for the mathematical constant π (pi), the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. However, the bill does contain text that appears to dictate various incorrect values of π, such as 3.2 (π = 3.14159265...).

The bill never became law, due to the intervention of a mathematics professor who happened to be present in the legislature.

The impossibility of squaring the circle using only compass and straightedge, suspected since ancient times, was rigorously proved in 1882 by Ferdinand von Lindemann. Better approximations of π than those inferred from the bill have been known since ancient times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill
 
Vanessa Jade said:
But here's a gem of a hilarous law from Chapter 9.60.030 of the Chico Municipal Code (Chico, CA):

9.60.030 Prohibition on the production, testing, maintenance and storage of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.

No person shall produce, test, maintain, or store within the city a nuclNo person shall produce, test, maintain, or store within the city a nuclear weapon, component of a nuclear weapon, nuclear weapon delivery system, or component of a nuclear weapon delivery system.
(Ord. 1564 §2 (part).

:dance:
Am I the only one who thinks that's a good idea? You know, that no one be allowed to have a nuclear weapon stored in my city. I kind of like not having to worry about whether or not my air conditioner will be able to keep me cool during a thermonuclear explosion.

Think it's unnecessary because no one can or will build a nuclear device in the city?
http://www.ted.com/speakers/taylor_wilson.html

I spotted a couple good laws listed for my state, too- by that I mean, I don't think they're dumb.

*It is against the law to rollerblade on a state highway.
*It is illegal to throw rocks at a city street.
*Cars may not be driven on sidewalks.
*It’s against the law to sing off key. (I say they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.)

But then there are these:
*While having sex, you must stay in the missionary position and have the shades pulled.
*If a man and a woman who aren’t married go to a hotel/motel and register themselves as married then, according to state law, they are legally married.
*All couples staying overnight in a hotel must have a room with double beds that are at least two feet apart.
*Oral sex is considered a crime against nature.
*Organizations may not hold their meetings while the members present are in costume.
*Serving alcohol at a bingo game is not allowed.
*Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited.
*Women must have their bodies covered by at least 16 yards of cloth at all times.
*No one may visit their departed loved ones late at night.

I am a repeat offender.
 
Yeah, I think what's wrong with some of the laws listed, like "roller blading in a highway," is that they're too specific. Good laws are written so they cover a large category of things that are harmful. Instead of writing a law that you may not pull a cat's claws out with pliers and no anesthetic, you write a law proscribing animal torture, etc.
 
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