Government’s Half-Witted Beaurocratic Laws Essay, Research Paper

Governement’s Bureaucratic Half-Witted Laws

Todays big government is a

typical display of bureaucracy in its

most creative state. Due to the

enormous bureaucracy within

todays state governments, many

laws have been passed through

legislation that really didn’t need to

be passed. These laws are a display

of the way government likes to show

power over the people using legal

suppression. Governments have

created laws governing almost

anything that the people do as an act

of blatant suppression, even if the

laws my never be able to be

unforced.

In reviewing many law books,

many laws were found that did not

seem to do anything but annoy the

general populous. These laws and

ordinances are used by the

government to show power without

having to be confronted by any

particular person who might have

been affected, because these legal

suppressors will most likely not be

enforced by the local law-

enforcement agencies.

In Alabama it is legal to drive

a motor vehicle while you are

blindfold. Most of the people in our

nation most likely would not decide

to drive with a blindfold on. Yet, the

Alabama state government needs to

have power so it passed the “no

driving while blindfold” law.

Alabama is not the only state with

laws that seem useless. In California

community leaders passed an

ordinance that makes it illegal for

anyone to try to stop a child from

playfully jumping over puddles of

water. The fine for such a crime is

fifty dollars and up to ten days in

jail. Once again a government

decided it didn’t have enough power

and thought that it might as well

impose a new law to show its

“immense” power over the people.

In Connecticut you can be

stopped be the police for bike riding

over sixty-five miles an hour. You

can also be arrested for walking

across a street on your hands. These

laws will probably not be enforced

due to the fact that the odds of

biking over sixty-five miles an hour

or walking across a street on one’s

hands seems unlikely.

Florida may be one of the

most creative legal suppressors in

the Unites States. One law reads

“Women may be fined up to 150

dollars if they fall asleep under a hair

dryer, as can the salon owner.”

Another law states that if an

elephant is tied to a parking meter,

the parking fee has to be paid just as

it would for a vehicle. A special law

in Florida also prohibits unmarried

women from parachuting on Sunday

or she shall risk arrest, fine, or

sometimes jailing. Men may not be

seen publicly wearing any type of

strapless gown or they can be fined

up to seventy-five dollars. In

Sarasota, Florida, it is illegal for one

to sing in public in a swimsuit.

These laws and ordinances display

Florida state government legislating

laws that to show power and a

suppressive attitude.

In some states the act of

suppression is shown in the control

of personal activities. For instance

citizens are not allowed to attend a

movie house or theatre nor ride any

form of public transportation within

at least four hours after eating garlic

in the state of Indiana. Another act

of personal suppression by the

government is the Iowa state law

that states, “Kisses may last for as

much as, but no more than, five

minutes.” One is not allowed to

transport an ice cream cone in ones

pocket or one can be arrested in the

state of Kentucky. New Mexico also

has its own form of personal

suppression in the form of a law that

states “Females are strictly forbidden

to appear unshaven in public.”

Massachusetts has an array of

personal suppressors involving its

citizens. One such suppressive law

states that mourners at a wake may

not eat more than three sandwiches.

Another law makes snoring a crime

unless all bedroom windows are

closed and securely locked. If one

wants to wear a goatee a special five

dollar permit must be purchased to

wear a goatee in public. In New

York a fine of twenty five dollars can

be imposed on any citizen that flirts.

Some laws and ordinances

seem to be “jokes”. One instance that

a law seems humorous is it is illegal

to rob a bank and then shoot at the

bank teller with a water pistol in

Louisiana. In the state of Indiana it

is illegal for anyone to bathe during

winter. Yet another almost comical

law states that it is illegal for any

person to give lit cigars to dogs, cats,

or any other domesticated animal

kept as a pet in Illinois.

The bureaucracy of the

government has created some laws

that do not even make sense. For

instance in North Dakota it is illegal

for any bar to sell or serve beer and

pretzels at the same time. In

Nebraska, a parent can be arrested if

ones child burps during a church

service. In Louisiana biting someone

with natural teeth is “simple assault”,

while if one bites someone with false

teeth they are charged with

“aggravated assault”. In Kentucky,

by law anyone who has been

drinking is “sober” until he or she

“cannot hold onto the ground.” In

Washington all lollipops are banned

and one can be arrested if he or she

is seen in public eating the forbidden

candy. Another law from

Washington is that a motorist with

criminal intentions is to stop at the

city limits and telephone the chief of

police as he is entering the town, or

he or she may be arrested. This law

seems especially stupid in the fact

that the person with criminal

intentions is most likely going to go

to jail anyway, but if he or she did

not call the chief of police they will

get arrested.

There are even more laws that

show the government’s abuse of

power. The government of

Pennsylvania for example makes it

illegal for a man to purchase alcohol

without the written consent of his

wife. Another Pennsylvania law of

suppression involves a cleaning

ordinance that says that housewives

are not allowed to hide dust or dirt

under carpets or rugs. In Oklahoma

violators will be fined for making

ugly or demeaning faces at any type

of dog. In that same state it is also

illegal for females to stylize their

own hair without being licensed by

the state. Oklahoma also has a law

that states that dogs gathered in

three or more must have a permit

signed by the mayor if they are to

gather on private property. The

government in Oklahoma seems to

even need a power trip over animals.

Oklahoma state government just

makes the suppression extremely

obvious to the public by declaring

such half-witted laws.

All of these laws support the

fact that government does not think

it has enough power, and that it

must show its power by instituting

laws that have virtually no affect on

the general public. Yet if citizens

knew that their government was

using their tax dollars to pay for

police patrolling for dogs gathered in

three or more without a permit or

for people smelling of garlic on

public transportation systems, there

could be an enormous rebellion. The

act of passing a law costs tax payers

money, and when these tax dollars

are used frivolously on silly laws

that sometimes do not even pertain

to people such laws that pertain to

elephants and dogs, the government

is showing a huge amount of

irresponsibility. Lawmakers are

proving to the public that they do

not want to be powerless against the

public. The phrase “government for

the people; by the people” seems

almost none existent when such laws

and ordinances are passed. The

government controls what you do

from personal activities such as

kissing to laws that seem strange to

even have such as not shooting a

bank teller with a water gun after

you rob a bank. It is laws like these

that are an example of government

waste and tax dollar

mismanagement. With this show of

waste the phrase “bureaucratic

spending” can be implemented.

Bureaucratic spending is the waste

of money when such laws are

created by lawmakers just to keep

people employed. These laws are

also used as “busy work” for

legislatures during slow periods of

no serious governmental events. Yet

the general public is in a “catch

twenty-two”, in the fact that if these

laws are to be repealed by

legislature, tax dollars will once

again be paying. If government

would think about the laws it signs

into affect, maybe these types of laws

would be nonexistent, and thus

government would not appear to be

the suppressive power that all of the

nations pawns must follow in order

to keep a clean record.

608

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(WWW)

Laws and Legislation. (1996, June 29). Laws Governing Us

Available: HTTP://www.law.harvard.edu/laws.html

File: Essay057.txt

Lawyers Guide of Laws and Ordinances. (1996, August)

Available: HTTP://www.gama.com/medi.html

File: LGLO1.html

(E-Mail)

Sellar, William (1996). Hope you like this

Available e-mail: [email protected]

Denn?, Edward (1996). Lawyers Diary and Manual

Available e-mail: [email protected]

(Telnet)

Available Telnet: setonhall.law.edu Directory:Main Reference

Full Text: Ridiculous Laws