Massachusetts is home to some strange laws, perhaps due to a Puritan past. While no one enforces them any more, for fun, I thought that we would look at some.
Spitting
G.L. c.270 section 14 says that spitting on a sidewalk is an offense worthy of a $20 fine.
Breaking and Entering and Poultry
G.L. c.266 section 22 provides that if someone illegally breaks into a building containing live poultry, the owner may detain them for up to 24 hours (excepting Sunday).
Dueling
G.L. c.265 sections 3 and 4 state that it’s only murder if you mortally wound someone in a duel outside of the Commonwealth. To be “safe,” only duel in the county of the challenge!
Adultery
I’m going to quote this word for word.
G.L. c.272 section 14
“A married person who has sexual intercourse with a person not his spouse or an unmarried person who has sexual intercourse with a married person shall be guilty of adultery and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years … by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars.” ($500)
Church and State
G.L. c.272 section 36 says willfully blaspheming Christianity can result in up to one year of jail time, or a fine of up to $300, and may also be bound to good behavior. This directly conflicts with the First Amendment.
Massachusetts has some strange laws, but less than in colonial days when witchcraft was a capital offense. In the summer of 1692, during the Salem witchcraft trials, Massachusetts tried 29; 14 women and five men were hanged. An early President of Harvard College, Increase Mather, and his son, Cotton Mather, both prominent ministers, may, through their writings, have inspired claims of witchcraft. About the time rumors began that Increase’s wife would be named a witch, he wrote the “Cases of Conscience,” an early effort at evidentiary rules and a sharp break from past views. You might say, “A switch in time saved mine.”
Let us know if you find any more strange laws! Feel free to look up more at the General Law website.
None can doubt the veracity of this article.