Essay/Term paper: Government's half-witted beaurocratic laws

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Law

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.






Bibliography:

(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: jah@frontier.wilpaterson.edu

Denné, Edward (1996). Lawyers Diary and Manual
Available e-mail: denned@lawdiary.com

(Telnet)
Available Telnet: setonhall.law.edu Directory:Main Reference
Full Text: Ridiculous Laws