"Antiquated state laws stir modern-day worry" by Andrew Carden and Kristen Lee | Globe Correspondents, January 03, 2013
The principal target for the repeal-minded legislators are 19th-century laws that criminalize abortion if Roe v. Wade were to be reversed....
In -- gasp -- Massachusetts?
As recently as 2007 the Essex district attorney’s office used the 1845 law to criminally charge a Lawrence woman who took an antiulcer drug to induce a third-trimester abortion....
Not as liberal as you thought we were.
No one would expect that using profanity at a sporting event could subject them to a $50 fine, but under Massachusetts law, that is precisely what could happen, though jurists would probably find the statute and another that penalizes blasphemy unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds.
I better watch what I say(?) at the basketball games the next three weeks.
Even so, there is nothing to prevent police from using such laws to make life difficult — and expensive — for people they consider to be disruptive, according to Harvey A. Silverglate, a civil rights lawyer who is a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.
Ah, the $weet liberty of Massachusetts -- the birthplace even, of American democracy.
“If a cop wants to get somebody, they can charge them for blasphemy, for instance, and it’ll be thrown out later, but to get to that point is very expensive,’’ Silverglate said in an interview. ‘’The statutes you see on the books are used more for abuse than use.”
To many, spitting on a sidewalk, which carries a $20 fine, or tweaking “The Star-Spangled Banner” in public, would also hardly raise an eyebrow, let alone seem criminal. The law on spitting in public hit the books in 1906. The statute on “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which calls for a fine of up to $100, was written in 1917. Neither has been repealed.
“There are dangers to having old and moldy and sometimes laughable laws on the books,’’ said Ann Lambert, an ACLU lawyer. “Those laws send messages that people can still be charged. It seems irresponsible not to do the housekeeping and have them repealed.’’
I hope you can see why I don't want them making law after law after law. Maybe they do have the best intentions (then again, the mo$t likely do not), but that still paves the road to hell when nothing ever works out as planned when it comes to state government.
Silverglate said there is a tendency among legislatures, both state and federal, to leave statutes like these on the books.
“This isn’t just a Massachusetts phenomenon, but since it’s such an old state, some of the statutes go back to archaic times,” Silverglate said. “I think we have a worse problem than elsewhere, not because we’re worse people or have harassing police, but because we have so many of these . . . laws, some of them going back to the 17th century.”
Many other states have antiquated laws. In Delaware, for instance, it is illegal to show an R-rated movie at a drive-in theater. In Georgia, it is illegal to live on a boat for more than 30 days in a calendar year. And in Tennessee, it is illegal to carry a skunk into the state.
Massachusetts is not the only state that still outlaws fornication (1692), oral and anal sex (1887), and belonging to subversive organizations (1951). In 1951, the state passed a series of anti-Communism laws. Among them was a statute declaring the Communist Party a subversive organization and a law calling for up to one year imprisonment of people who allowed the Communist Party to hold functions in their auditorium, hall, or building.
Yes, that wasn't so long ago, and you might as well replace Communist with Muslim these days. Pretty neat transition, even given the roster of CIA assets that became "Al-CIA-Duh."
“We have not made any real effort to repeal these laws, though it’s certainly something that ought to be done,” said Roberta Wood, secretary-treasurer of the Communist Party USA. “We don’t know of any cases where these laws have actually been enforced. I don’t think there’s been much judicial action against the free speech of Communists since the McCarthy era.”
According to Wood, there are similar anti-Communist laws that have been left undisturbed in more than a dozen other states.
Umm, there is a dustbin over there for you. These are obviously remnants of a controlled-opposition crew because those communist cats are gone from history. Even the Chinese and Cubans are capitalists now.
Among the other targets of repeal by the two lawmakers is a 1762 law on adultery that calls for up to three years of imprisonment for married people who have sexual intercourse with someone who is not their spouse. The 1692 law against fornication, sexual intercourse between an unmarried man and woman, calls for a prison term of up to three months.
That might be useful to enforce given all the sick and deviant sexual behavior we have seen from those in positions of power, from the very top down to the local school coach or teacher.
Left on the books, some of the laws may place people unwittingly in criminal jeopardy....
No arguing the calls of authority no matter how piss-poor.
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