If you are performing “The Star-Spangled Banner’’ at a public event, think twice before using it as dance music or as part of a medley. Deviation from the script can mean a $100 fine.
Think twice, too, about cursing at sporting events. A prohibition took effect in 1963, when both Red Sox and Patriots fans had little reason to cheer. And steer clear of more serious offenses, such as joining a subversive organization, committing blasphemy, or having consensual sex with another adult outside marriage. All could land you in prison.
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This issue should not be construed as abortion promotion. There is enough existing science proving the feelings and capacities of fetal humans to put this procedure into the legal but rare category. Anything else results in the repeated use of it for birth control.
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Interesting article. The anti spitting law was not put on the books because spitting is "Gross". At the time, they figured out spitting spread disease. People walked through the spit. It eventually got on clothing, on fingers, into mouths and spread disease. Not really a stupid law. We know now that people can spread disease by spitting on someone else and it can be a form of assault.
That said, the article makes an excellent point that these laws can be used to intimidate and harass citizens.
My own viewpoint is that these laws are left on the books more as a "Just in case we might want to use them" rather than the fear of offending someone's sense of morality. Sort of like a Mom keeping a wooden spoon in her handbag, it is what a Nanny state would do.
Spitting on the sidewalk is illegal? That's one law I'd love to see enforced.
Yup, me too. I have never figured out people who have this "need" to constantly spit. I have even seen "ladies" do it. Spitting out car windows, spitting on sidewalks, turn on a football game, we get to see the coaches spitting. It is just a habit, not a necessity.
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A lot of laws like that came about after the flu pandemic of 1918. That's when spittoons disappeared.
Another antiquated law (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 164, section 43), written a century ago, now grants large electric utilities like NStar and National Grid a permanent monopoly.
That's because large utilities can refuse to sell their assets at their full value to a city or town seeking to form a municipal utility -- something that made sense a century ago when existing networks consisted of a handful of poles and streetlights in the center of towns, but which today makes new municipal utilities impossible to form: the last municipal utility formed in Massachusetts was in 1926.
The Legislature has failed for 12 years now to modernize this antiquated statute, making the large utilities' monopoly permanent. As a result, large utilities face no competition and charge high rates while providing poor service, with days-long outages after major storms.
Details at http://massmunichoice.org
So the legislature isn't useless enough to get anything done they should go back and work on laws that are never used? Typical ACLU, Globe approach to progress.
How about they get rid of the useless laws instead of dreaming up MORE useless laws?
For a state with only about 6M people, they sure are well paid. I also wonder how interested they all would be if they worked for a "token" sum since they all tell us they are truly there to "serve the constituents". To my recollection, servants usually don't make much more than minimum wage? That would help with taxes, no?
Silverglate should go back to chasing ambulances and get a life. No cop in the Commonwealth would ever arrest someone for blasphemy, swearing at a sports event, fornication or adultery. If we did, then 80% of the State Legislature would be awaiting court dates.
Just because you have not done so, does not mean that no other person in law enforcement would. Please provide proof that these laws have not been used to harass people.