25 Stupid Laws That Shouldn't Exist

Laws keep us safe from criminals and give us a sense of morality. But some laws are so old, outdated or just down right absurd.

By RustyBuckler

Published 3 years ago in Facepalm

Laws keep us safe from criminals and give us a sense of morality. But some laws are so old, outdated, or just downright absurd that maybe we should think about throwing them out. At r/AskReddit we got a look at what laws people think should be abolished.

1
Civil Asset Forfeiture. Law enforcement can seize money or property on suspicion of it being connected to criminal activity. It’s then your responsibility to prove that it’s not illegal, which requires paying a lawyer, going to court, etc. which can many times cost more than the seized property. -/uRoguewind

2
In the Delaware state constitution, there is an entire section on how to legally run a bingo game. Like bro, just let the grandma's bingo in peace! -u/Zelphadiem

3
In my state, our public service commission approved an additional fee on power bills for homeowners who install solar panels. Not necessarily a "law" but still shouldn't exist. -u/NauvooMetro
4
It's a minor one but here it's illegal for stores to sell alcohol after 10pm. I finish work at 10 so if I want to have a few beers at home after work I can't unless I've bought them in advance. Yet I can finish work and go straight to a pub and drink until closing time. Makes no sense -u/Walter-the-Wobot

5
Still technically a law - in Vermont, women needing false teeth must first get permission from their husbands to do so. -u/AcrylicKateQuinn
6
It is illegal to mispronounce Arkansas, while in the state of Arkansas.-u/Yeety381
7
In Tennessee, where I live, it's illegal to shoot a whale from a moving vehicle. We're a landlocked state.....-u/aven1991

8
Not being able to pump your own gas in Oregon. Drove threw there once and the gas attendant came running from inside the store. He was like “I am not getting a $5,000 fine again.” Then proceeded to pump it for me. -u/genieofthelamp7
9
In South Carolina, when approaching a blind intersection in a motor vehicle you must discharge a firearm three times into the air to warn horse traffic. Not enforced, but technically still a law on the books. -u/ImReverse_Giraffe
10
In many states, if you are killed at your place of employment, even due to gross or literally criminal negligence on the companies behalf, your family can not take your employer to court for wrongful death. The workman's comp gets paid out and that's the end of it. Effectively making it a kill-tax. -u/Burdicus

11
Any law that exempts any public servant from the laws that govern the rest of us. -u/PM_Me_Yourbutts
12
There are still municipalities in the U.S. that have criminalized more than a certain threshold of adult women from living together without any adult men, because obviously the only thing they could be doing together is running a brothel. There's universities that don't allow sorority houses for this reason. -u/hypo-osmotic
13
In Virginia homeowner associations can legally put a lien on your house and cause foreclosure due to unpaid dues. HOAs are scum. -u/iwishyouwereabeer

14
Some states don’t allow you to collect rainwater. -u/akrmalhakimi
15
Blue laws are stupid and only based on religion. I really can’t buy a beer on Sunday because Jesus won’t approve? -u/Cheeseish
16
In several states there are clauses to laws that include possession in any manner even unbeknownst to the individual. Many people are jailed and charged with major felonies just because they purchased legally, something that was acquired illegally. Often times people charged with this are unable to prove to a jury or a judge that they had no intent to deprive and so many people get stuck with major charges just because someone didn't know the property they bought was stolen. -u/88KRATOS

17
It is illegal to get a fish drunk in Ohio -u/FactorEither2310
18
In Alabama it’s illegal to walk around with an ice cream cone in your pocket due to way back in the days where horses were the common mode of transportation people would “steal” the horses by attracting them with the ice cream in their pocket. -u/Maleficent-Spell4170
19
It’s illegal to distill your own alcohol, imo it should be allowed. And I completely understand if that includes safety regulations (since crappy stills can explode). But it’s legal to grow the ingredients. It’s legal to own a still. It’s legal to distill things like essential oils in that still. It’s legal to drink alcohol. It’s legal to brew your own beer or make your own wine. It should be legal to distill your own liquor. -u/drinkbeersaveturtles

20
Even if it is legal between the two states you are traveling between, if the federal law makes it illegal you cannot transport it over states lines. For example, It doesn’t matter state A says weed is legal and state B says weed is legal, if you travel over the border from A to B its a crime because of federal law. -u/pwb_118
21
Citizens United. It basically says corporations can "donate" unlimited amounts of money for politicians to pass the laws requested by the corporations. Before Citizens United, there was a strict cap on the amounts allowed, and it was small. -u/TheRichTookItAll
22
In Massachusetts, if someone breaks into your house and if you hurt them, you can go to jail as well. -u/davulurister

23
There are 8 states in the US with laws on the books that bar atheists from holding any public office or "position of trust" -u/JBu92
24
Bans against prostitution. -u/jorrph_wasHere
25
Qualified immunity has a place, but it needs limits. If an officer actually in the capacity of their job, say in a shoot out with armed robbers, misses a shot and damages someone's vehicle, they should not be found personally liable for that damage as it was within the scope of public protection. That said, I believe qualified immunity should be determined by a jury at the time of lawsuit, not used as an excuse to dismiss an otherwise valid lawsuit. -u/Zaratuir