I live in a state that is supposedly pretty liberal, but some of the laws I’m discovering are insane.

Yes, I know…a LOT of laws are insane.  But these are the kind that make you wonder whether the lawmakers weren’t smoking those funny kind of cigarettes when they got together that day.

For instance, we have a law here that says if a 15 year old child is out with a friend, and the friend gets into a fight and someone gets hurt, the 15 year old goes to jail for five years.  The 15 year old (this law covers teens up to 19 years old) isn’t involved in the fight, didn’t provoke the fight, and might even be begging the two combatants to stop.  That doesn’t matter.  Five years, whether the 15 year old has a record or not.

And yes, it IS enforced.

That’s a crazy law.

Another one:  It is against the law to ride a bicycle on brick paving downtown. 

Sound good?  Except that more and more of the sidewalks—and streets—are being redone…in brick.   And this is a bicyle-loving city.

The only other one I’m going to mention is the one about it being against the law to spit on the sidewalk.  We all know this one isn’t enforced.  Sometimes I wish it were. 

But instead of worrying about saliva, how about stopping men from urinating on the sides of our beautiful buildings?   When I get tired downtown, I don’t dare lean against a wall any more.

C’mon, lawmakers, put down the funny stuff, and start making some sense.   Please?