Old California Laws — 9 May 1984
The folks we are talking about here are in the State Assembly’s Criminal Law and Public Safety Committee which has voted five to nothing to send a bill to the floor which, if passed, would eliminate a few laws on the books that are somewhat behind the times.
One to be tossed out is the 1872 law that says you can’t sell alcohol within a mile of a religious revival meeting. Another is the one that carries a $1,000 fine and six months in jail for spitting in public. Another is a 1873 law which bans the exhibiting of a “deformity for hire.” I’m gonna miss that one.
Another law to be axed is one that carries a $1,000 fine for the unsolicited delivery of razor blades. That should make cocaine users snort!
Then there’s the 1913 law making it a misdemeanor crime to hid one’s identity with a mask or false whiskers.
And last but not least, the California law which carries a $5,000 fine for seducing a virgin with a promise of marriage. According to the committee, the last complaint filed under that one was in 1923.
And we thought the California Condor was an endangered species!
