Why are there stupid laws in some states?

It is illegal to drive with no shoes on in the state of Queensland.

Mostly due to the survival of many common laws; no sheep allowed to graze on the green, for example (or was it goats?).

Because some prude on the city council got offended 100 years ago and wrote a dumb law. No one wanted to argue so they passed it. Once a law is on the books it seems to take 100 years to get it off the books, even if it is a dumb law.

Alot of them are based on instances that once could have caused trouble, but to our modern minds seem weird.

For instance, it is illegal to carry an icecream cone in your back pocket in (a state I can’t recall, I think it may be my home state).

The reasoning is because people used to carry waffle cones in their back pockets to lead horses away from their hitches and steal them.

Also in my home town, you are required by law to fire a gun out your window at four-way intersections. This was originally a way to signal to other carriage drivers that you were about to cross the intersection to prevent a collision. The law was just never repealed.

@WestRiverrat : ... I’m not sure if that’s true or not, or if you’re being sarcastic or not. :S It doesn’t really make sense.

Check out the last law in the picture I provided here
Arizona law: It is illegal to let a Donkey sleep in a bathtub. source

@troubleinharlem you would be surprised. It seems to happen more in smaller towns, but it does happen. Actually most of them don’t get repealed because no one remembers they are on the books until some high school civics student researches the local laws.

@Axemusica: Ooh, in Connecticut it’s illegal for four unrelated women to live in a single dwelling unless they are in college. Then it is officially considered dorm. Otherwise, it is a brothel. I believe it is a law that is still enforced.

To answer the question, back in the day, somebody ticked off a lawmaker, or the circumstances were quite different in that day and age to actually make someone think that law would be practical.

In Michigan It is legal for a robber to file a law suit, if he or she got hurt in your house.
KY – It’s illegal to fish in the Ohio River in Kentucky without an Indiana Fishing License.
KY – It is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket.
KY – A woman may not buy a hat without her husband’s permission.
Alabama – Boogers may not be flicked into the wind. # Incestous marriages are legal.
# It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.
AZ A decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up.
CA Nobody is allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. San Francisco – Persons classified as “ugly” may not walk down any street.
VT Whistling underwater is illegal.
WV Roadkill may be taken home for supper.
MN Citizens may not enter Wisconsin with a chicken on their head. Hamburgers may not be eaten on Sundays.
TX A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed.
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.
Obnoxious odors may not be emitted while in an elevator.
NY Citizens may not greet each other by “putting one’s thumb to the nose and wiggling the fingers”.
IA One-armed piano players must perform for free. Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants

Who knows?

link

New Hampshire has no Lieutenant Governor. The last time a Governor died in office (1983) we did without a governor until a new one could be elected; do we really need a Governor?

@Trillian: So would a fake mustache that makes someone cry be legal?~

@KatawaGrey I’m still trying to picture “whistling under water”. ;-)

@Trillian: You mean you can’t do that? :P

@KatawaGrey Nah, I’m still working on paddling in the ducky pool!

Why? Because some states have an abundance of stupid lawyers… :-)

Because every state has stupid people.

See also: Hate Crime Legislation.