Last week, people at weekend lunch celebrated the end of the “blue law,” which said that restaurants couldn’t serve alcohol before noon on Sundays. However, New Yorkers are still stuck with dozens of laws that don’t make sense and are laughably stupid today.
People who live in Gotham probably don’t know half of the old rules they break every day. This is especially true for people who play with puppets, hang their laundry, eat ice cream, or flirt. Most police officers don’t know about these crazy laws either, which is good for these happy lawbreakers.
A sociologist at SUNY Potsdam named David J. Hanson said that many blue laws “were made for religious reasons, but when they are challenged legally, the courts almost always throw the laws out.”
He said, “They go back to the 1700s.” “They were meant to really encourage and reinforce going to church, and at first they covered a lot of different behaviors, like not playing games, sports, or having sex.” Years ago, George Washington almost got jailed for leaving on Sunday.
Ron Kuby, a civil rights lawyer, said that these kinds of rules tend to stay in place for a while after they become law. He said, “It’s easy to make laws that control how people act.” “Getting rid of those laws is very hard.” To get rid of them, politicians need to be brave.
“Morality laws are usually passed quickly because people are angry about some crime or another,” Kuby said. “They stay in place because you need an affirmative act to get rid of them, and you risk upsetting people who backed them in the first place, and it looks like you’re okay with behavior that’s against the law.”
As Kuby put it, New York’s penal code is “an archaeology of the eras of New York” and is full of rules that “would be unconstitutional today.” “That’s why they stay, like old family photos in the books.” And sometimes a writer opens the books and we say, “Look at those people, look at that time.” “How strange!”
Silliest Laws NYC
Illegal to Sell Cat or Dog Hair
Yep. Put that ball of stored fur down right away. Don’t even think about trying to sell it for any amount of money. It is against the law in New York to sell dog or cat fur, skin, hair, or meat (New York Code AGM – Agriculture & Markets Article 26 – ANIMALS 379). If you want to know if people really do this, we don’t know. There is a lot of selling of other animals, like sheep, alpacas, foxes, and so on. But we’ve never heard of selling cat or dog fur.
Illegal to Wear Slippers in Public After 10:00 PM
This isn’t as unusual as the last one, but the fact that it’s against the law is still strange. The idea behind this one is that your smelly feet might bring in rats or other pests. That being said, your feet would have to be really stinky for this to happen. The chances are slim that a rat will run along, smell your feet, and think they are cheese. The politicians in New York City don’t agree. Don’t go to the corner store in your shoes after 10 PM!
Illegal to Throw a Ball at Someone’s Head
Out of all the laws on this list, this one probably makes the most sense. Of course, it’s not cool to throw a ball at someone’s head for fun, since you could hurt them very badly. In fact, though, how often do you just throw balls at people for fun? Who would sue you for it? What proof do you have that it was just for fun? What if it happened by mistake? In what way does this hold up in court?
Also Read: This Illinois city was just named one of the nation’s “murder capitals”
Illegal to Release Helium-filled Balloons
This is another law that isn’t so crazy, even though this is a list of crazy or weird laws. Even though the number “25” seems very specific, this many balloons could hurt animals badly and are definitely trash. One of the laws says, “No one shall knowingly release or cause to be released outdoors a balloon.” “Balloon” in this part means a bladder-like, stretchy material made of rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or nylon fabric that holds helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, air, or water. It’s suggested that you think again about that gender reveal party idea before you get a big fine!
Illegal to Walk on Sundays With an Ice Cream
Get that cone of ice cream out of your pocket right away. But only if it’s Sunday. The ice cream cone can be kept hidden on any of the other six days of the week. It’s because of horse theft that this strange rule exists. A horse might smell the cone in your pocket on a Sunday night and follow you home, leaving its owner behind. You would be charged with horse theft if this were true. Two blows at once.