You Can Teach an Old Law New Tricks

Social conservatives, terrified straight people, and resentful closet cases have dusted off a seldom-used Wisconsin law in order to oppress their gay neighbors:

Wisconsin law makes it a criminal offense to enter into a marriage outside the state if that marriage were illegal in Wisconsin.

The law was passed decades ago to prevent underage couples from crossing state lines to marry, but it could be used against same-sex couples, The Capital Times of Madison reported Wednesday.

The penalty is a fine of up to $10,000, nine months in prison, or both.

Gay rights advocates are confident that state prosecutors will leave the law where it belongs, in Wisconsin history, but that doesn't stop idiots, like this woman, from droning on about how gay marriages are an attempt to defraud the state.

Here are some more equally dumb laws that are still on the books around the country:

In California, It is illegal to own a green or smelly animal hide.

In North Carolina, no one may be a professional fortune-teller, and if one wishes to pursue the practice as an amateur, it must be practiced in a school or church.

In Rhode Island, one must make a loud noise before passing a car on the left.

And my new favorite:

In Kentucky, one may not dye a duckling blue and offer it for sale unless more than six are for sale at once.

Editor David Weigel wrote about dumb laws here.