Silly, Silly Laws

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March 2009
- NJ Scrubs Plan to Ban Brazilian Bikini Waxes
  
  Chicago Tribune | Mar 21, 09 4:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - New Jersey has ripped up a plan to forbid the state's salons from offering Brazilian waxes, reports the Chicago Tribune . A state panel was moving towards banning the procedure—which involves the full removal of hair “down there”—after reports of injuries, but the state's consumer affairs chief decided to focus on better training instead. More »
February 2009
- Mexicans Kiss Off Smooching Ban
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 14, 09 5:27 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Outraged Mexicans joined forces—and lips—to kiss away a city's efforts to ban public smooching, the Los Angeles Times reports. Guanajuato's law drew national ridicule and protesters soon started kissing en masse in front of city hall. Newspaper columnists and politicians lined up to defend the kiss as a treasured national institution. More »
September 2008
- Monster Bans, Other Crazy Illinois Laws
  
  CBS2 Chicago | Sep 7, 08 9:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sure, every state has some bizarre laws on the books, but Illinois might take the cake for the oddest. Some highlights from WBBM-TV's compilation of the most perplexing: In Chicago, it is illegal to eat in a burning building. In Eureka, a man with a mustache is prohibited from kissing women. Evanston: No bowling allowed. More »
August 2008
- Doggie-Dining Goes Legit in Tampa
  
  Tampa Tribune | Aug 21, 08 9:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Puppy-lovers can now legally chow down in the company of their canine companions at Tampa's Java & Cream cafe, the first eatery in the city to boast a dog-dining permit. Permits for pups have been required in Tampa since 2006, though restaurateurs have apparently been unaware of the law: The city received its first application just last month, reports the Tampa Tribune . More »
July 2008
- Calif. Pol Aims to Burst Balloons
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jul 15, 08 8:55 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A California lawmaker is pushing to ban helium-filled foil balloons, blaming the globe-shaped menaces for flying into power lines and causing more than 800 blackouts in the state last year. The bill easily passed the state's senate, but it’s facing an uproar from balloon artists and balloon lovers alike as it awaits an assembly vote, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
May 2008
- Chicago Ducks Foie Gras Ban
  
  Chicago Sun-Times | May 15, 08 1:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Chicago restaurant ban on foie gras pate that animal lovers love to hate has been lifted by city legislators after two years. The ban caused widespread derision among foodies, fury in the restaurant industry—and plaudits from animal rights advocates who wanted to save the force-fed ducks and geese whose super fatty livers make the pate. Mayor Richard Daley bulldozed the repeal through the City Council, reports the Sun Times . More »
- US Must End Ban on HIV-Positive Immigrants
  
  Washington Post | May 14, 08 6:06 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The US is one of only 12 countries (including Sudan, Moldova and Libya) that flouts UN law by barring HIV-positive visitors or immigrants—and the restriction must end, writes Andrew Sullivan in the Washington Post . The HIV-positive Sullivan, a senior editor at Atlantic magazine, remains in the US only with the help of “great lawyers, a rare O visa…a government-granted HIV waiver” and endless legal fees—and he’s one of the lucky ones. More »
- China Won't Stop Censoring Web for Olympics
  
  Ars Technica | May 8, 08 2:37 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - China apparently will continue to censor the Internet during August's Olympics, but says the international press will have the access it needs to function, Jacqui Cheng writes on Ars Technica. Officials said they would guarantee as much access “as possible,” but “controls on some unhealthy websites” would continue. In defense, they said, “every country limits access to some websites.” More »
- Fritzl Triggers Change in Austria Sex Law
  
  BBC | May 8, 08 7:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Josef Fritzl case has spurred Austrian legislators to initiate changes in sex crime laws to prevent child abuse, the BBC reports. As Fritzl kept his daughter imprisoned as a sex slave, he was granted custody for three of the children he fathered with her— despite a rape conviction. His conviction was wiped off the books after 15 years. Austria now wants to keep sex crime records for at least 30 years. More »
- Ind. Nuns Don't Have a Prayer at Polls
  
  Associated Press | May 7, 08 5:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A dozen nuns who lacked proper photo ID were turned away from an Indiana voting booth yesterday—by a fellow nun. None of the nuns, all over 80, had a driver's license because they don't drive, and some presented outdated passports, the AP reports. Their convent has launched a major push to arrange for proper ID in time for November's election. More »
- Woman Who Defied Interracial Marriage Ban Dies at 68
  
  Associated Press | May 5, 08 4:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mildred Loving, whose challenge to Virginia law led to the Supreme Court decision overturning bans on racially mixed marriage, has died at the age of 68. Loving, who was black, and her white husband Richard pleaded guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth” before their suit led to a landmark civil-rights ruling in 1967. More »
- Aussies Ditch Dueling Law
  
  Sydney Morning Herald | May 3, 08 12:56 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - There's no longer a law against challenging somebody to a duel in Queensland, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. As part of an effort to get old laws off the books, the Australian state is also scrapping laws against piracy on the high seas, and mayors will no longer have to read the Riot Act to mobs of angry townspeople before rioters can be charged. More »
April 2008
- Turkey Eases Controversial 'Insult' Statute
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Apr 30, 08 8:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Turkish parliament has approved changes to a notorious law that makes it a crime to "insult Turkishness," reports the Financial Times . Ankara legislators today amended the notorious Article 301, reducing the maximum sentence and requiring the justice minister to approve all prosecutions. But while nationalists are outraged, civil rights lawyers call the changes cosmetic at best. More »
- Masseuse Chastity Pants Spark Uproar in Indonesia
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 27, 08 5:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Reacting to clients’ demands for sex, some Indonesian masseuses have begun wearing locked pants reminiscent of ancient chastity belts, the Los Angeles Times reports. What began as one parlor entrepreneur's idea to deflect pushy clients has spread and may now spawn legislation. But many, including Indonesia's minister for women’s empowerment, are outraged by the idea. More »
- Louisiana Pockets Ban on Droopy Drawers
  
  Times-Picayune (New Orleans) | Apr 23, 08 10:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A proposed ban on saggy pants didn’t fly in Louisiana, where a Senate panel rejected the legislation as a violation of freedom of speech, reports the Times-Picayune . “This is a situation that is disgusting and needs state attention,” insisted the state senator pushing the bill. “I have the right to walk down the street and not see your dirty drawers.” More »
- Bill Would Defend Troops From Incoming Playmates
  
  Military Times | Apr 23, 08 9:12 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Republican lawmaker wants to keep America's fighting men and women out of harm's way—the harm he says is caused by exposure to incoming copies of Playboy and Penthouse . The Military Honor and Decency Act sponsored by Georgia congressman Paul Broun would tighten existing laws to prevent the magazines from being sold on military bases, reports the Military Times . More »
- NY Stays Calorie-Count Law
  
  Village Voice | Apr 21, 08 5:53 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Today a New York judge delayed a law requiring Big Apple eateries to list calorie content on menus. Set to kick in today, the law is now slated to take effect Friday—which gives the city time to sort out a suit by New York restaurants, which are seeking yet another stay. Meanwhile, the Village Voice visits a few restaurants to chat up servers and reconsider TGI Friday's' 2,000-calorie ribs. More »
- Shhh! Europe Law Forces Orchestras to Tone It Down
  
  New York Times | Apr 19, 08 9:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A new law in Europe to protect employees from ear-damaging noises is stifling a surprise industry—orchestras. Conductors are taking it down a notch to comply, in one case canceling a world premiere because it exceeded the allowable decibels in rehearsal, the New York Times reports. At the Royal Opera House, musicians have to wear earplugs—akin to telling a "race-car driver they have to wear a blindfold," said one oboist. More »
- A Board Rules, and Businesses Balk
  
  New York Times | Apr 19, 08
  
  “I know the city obviously knows what’s best for everybody,” said Daniel Scherotter, the group’s incoming president. “But at a certain point, it gets ridiculous.”The health plan was just one of several laws affecting businesses passed by the Board and the city’s voters in recent years, including ordinances mandating that employers pay for sick leave for employees and one establishing one of the highest minimum wages in the country.
- Finns May Stop (Working) in the Name of Love
  
  Bloomberg | Apr 18, 08 12:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Finland's citizens will get an extra week of vacation specifically for romance if a proposed bill becomes law, Bloomberg reports. The legislation, which currently has 13 of the 100 required backers, would augment the 25 paid vacation days and 10 public holidays that already put Finns above the EU norm. Slightly more than half of Finnish marriages end in divorce. More »