Our teen thing, B, is taking a law class this semester, and he is surprised by how much he's enjoying it. He likes it so much that he and his law class buddies have taken to spending some of their free time looking up and debating silly laws. Last week, he started reading some of them to me, and we were laughing so hard we were crying and gasping for air. Of course, many of them are silly today because they were only really applicable during the time they were instated. It's amazing some of this stuff is still on the books! What's even more entertaining to me is how many of these laws involve animals. I was inspired by our new family "game" and wanted to share this great new source of entertainment with my readers, but there are just too many to include in one post, so we'll be visiting this topic by state in alphabetical order, starting with good ol' Alabama.
Alabama's silly state (and city) laws regarding animals:
• Bear wresting matches are prohibited. This law was designed to protect the bears from this inhumane form of entertainment. Is there no limit to the types of animals we will pit against each other? In addition, a person may not surgically alter a wrestling bear. I guess since it's unlawful for bears to wrestle, then we can only surgically alter non-wrestling bears. Which would be all bears. Sure.
• It is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of spooking horses (repealed). I wonder how many horses currently roam the streets of Alabama. We'll just get wet...it's worth it for the horses.
• Elephants may not be placed in electric ovens. Well, there go the Thanksgiving plans.
• It is illegal to marry an animal that is not already a relation. Um. Well. I guess marriage equality does have limits. Apparently animals are considered family members of their owners. And we can marry them.
And my personal favorite...
• If an animal control officer is in uniform, it signifies to the public that he is an animal control officer. So glad we cleared that up.
Law information source: stupidlaws.com and dumblaws.com.