Legal Juice
If the wacky law isn’t bothering you, why bother the wacky law? Maybe to look like you are doing something? In any event, as reported by The Edinburgh Evening News:
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has launched a drive to banish both types, inviting people across the UK to nominate needless laws and excessive regulations which should be ditched.
Any examples?
Failing to report grey squirrels in your garden, it turns out, is illegal. So is being drunk in charge of a cow.
Fans of mince pies, though, should count their blessings that they don’t live south of the Border, as eating the sweet treats on Christmas Day is still banned in England under a law brought in by Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century.
More? Okay.
It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the Queen’s image upside-down.
A law passed in 1313 makes it illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour. Bizarrely, it is also illegal to die there – allegedly because anyone who dies in parliament is technically entitled to a state funeral and the authorities once wanted to guard against such potential expense.
And if you have to go to the bathroom …
… a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants …
But …
It is apparently legal for a male to urinate in public, as long it is on the rear wheel of his motor vehicle and his right hand is on the vehicle.
There is also seemingly a law that if someone knocks on your door in Scotland and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter.
Good to know, that last one. Here are a few more:
It appears still to be illegal to stand within 100 yards of a ruling monarch if you are not wearing any socks.
It is also against the law to allow your pet to fornicate with any pet of the royal household.
Okay, so why bother?
Mr Clegg believes letting dormant laws accumulate on the statute book sends out the “wrong signal”.
Really? The Juice feels otherwise, and agrees with Professor Kenneth Norrie, head of the law school at Strathclyde University.
“When I heard about this initiative, it struck me it was a bit of a wasted exercise,” he says. “Civil servants will be able to advise ministers which laws are causing a nuisance by being there.”
Hear, hear. Here’s the source.