Montana: It’s illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sunday, and illegal for unmarried women to fish alone at all.
New Hampshire: On Sunday, citizens may not relieve themselves while looking up. (Presumably, while making direct eye contact with God?)
Ohio: It’s illegal to fish for whales on Sunday.
East New Jersey: The “singing of vain songs or tunes” is illegal on Sunday.
New York: Pinball machines may not be played on Sunday.
Rhode Island: You may not sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.
South Carolina: Dance halls may not operate on Sunday. Musical instruments may not be sold on Sunday.
Tennessee: The sale of bologna is prohibited on Sunday.
Virginia: No animal may be hunted on Sunday with the exception of raccoons, which may be hunted until 2:00 a.m.
West Virginia: It is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the courthouse steps on Sundays.
Washington: No one may buy a mattress on Sunday.
Individual state governments, however, are not the only ones to have a field day with strange Sunday laws; some cities have their own unusual Sunday laws.
Buckner, Missouri: Yard waste may be burned any day except Sunday.
St. Cloud, Minnesota: Hamburgers may not be eaten on Sunday.
Colorado Springs, Colorado: It’s permissible to wear a holstered six-gun within city limits, except on Sunday, Election Day, or holidays.
Hartford, Connecticut: It’s illegal for a man to kiss his wife on Sunday.
While most of these laws seem a little extreme—and seem not to have much to do with preserving the Sabbath—it certainly would make a good story were you to be arrested for singing a “vain song.” While one might wonder how some of these laws came to be, one thing is certain: Sunday is a bad day for pregnant women with cravings in Oregon.
Sources: dumblaws.com, lawguru.com
Updated July 9, 2010
