If you could remove one law from the books forever, what would it be and why?

The law of gravity. It’s the man keeping me down.

Ah, the places we’d go…

I’d remove the anti-sodomy laws from a number of states. What goes on in 2 consenting adults bedrooms is none of the states business.

Not one law- but a general idea- the legal idea that animals have the status of mere property.

The law that makes marijuana illegal. It is so antiquated. I would love to be able to go to a shop and buy some pot just like you buy a bottle of wine. “Sigh” maybe some day.

I would take away the first amendment rights of every American but myself.

what?!? the first thing i’d say would be, ‘just kiddin’

Currently, Prop 8 because it is based on suspicion and homophobia. But this is likely to change when I read the paper tomorrow.

@Adina1968: ditto. It would save so much wasted tax dollars on the “war” against drugs, it could create a lot of revenue, by taxing the sales.

Child labor laws.

Damn lefty pinkos!

The laws in a handful of states that bar atheists from holding public office.

I second Ivan, what a person believes (or doesn’t believe) is NOT a character flaw. Well, unless we count those silly Flat Earthers, those people are just loony!

I’d remove the Law of Averages. Let’s all dare to be different.

@Bluefreedom…I’d much rather Dare To Be Stupid.

@Blondesjon. Nice. =)

three little letters come to mind… i r s
why? do I really need to elaborate why….

loitering

sometimes I’d like to stand around for no particular reason without worrying about the man.

I’m going to second @Adina1968‘s drug law removal, but I’m really debating more the age limit on alcohol. If you got rid of that, you could definitely replace it with stricter punishments for things like drunk driving, as well as better regulations for things like that. It’s a toss up for sure.

This is so difficult! Sodomy, Prop 8, marijuana, legal drinking age (from 21 back to 18) or legal adult age (from 18 to 21), The Patriot Act (does that count as ‘a’ law?). I can’t choose! I’d probably have to hold a random drawing.

Other good answers here, including mine: “Does the USA PATRIOT act count as one law or many?”

Well, I don’t live in the U.S., but there’s one law they have over there that shouldn’t have been crafted in the first place. It’s the The Hague Invasion Act that allows the US to invade the Netherlands (!) if US citizens are detained due to a ruling in the Internation Criminal Court. The Netherlands, for God’s sake!

Jeez, if it’s just one, I’d take away the illegality of gay marriage. Cut some of my best buddies a break.

In california there is a law i’d like to get rid of (NOT KIDDING… IT’S A REAL LAW… 2 ACTUALLY)
#1 No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.
#2 It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.

@Dr_C: It’s laws like that which make me believe that lawmakers get really bored sometimes.

@Dr_C…The second example is silly. The first example applies to vehicles being towed behind another vehicle with a driver.

@Dr_C

The whale law doesn’t exist. Check for yourself.

A prohibition against shooting animals from moving vehicles is entirely sensible. If the whale law ever did exist, it was probably when whale hunting from boats was still legal. A boat is, after all, a vehicle.

@Dr_C That first one is going to be a real problem once driverless cars become common . . .

I’d repeal the Act of Settlement 1701, which settled the question of succession to the British throne, stating that only Protestant heirs of Princess Sophia, granddaughter of James I, may become monarch. It institutionalises religious discrimination and male primogeniture.

@Ivan – Which states have laws that bar atheists from holding public office? How does that square with the first ammendment to the US constitution?

@meiosis

Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

There are clauses in these states’ constitutions which bar atheists from holding office. Granted, they aren’t really enforced anymore, but they still fly in the face of the 1st amendment.