Weird State Laws that Affect Your Small Business (Infographic)

You've broken the law.

Don't let it bother you too much however, because it's likely that almost everyone in the U.S. has broken a weird state law at one point or another and guess what! No one's coming to get you.

You've heard about these laws, right? Statutes that declare things like, “One may not promote a 'horse tripping event'” or “No animal may be hunted for on Sunday with the exception of raccoons, which may be hunted until 2:00 AM“.

While many of these laws are a throwback to different times, they're still on the books and enforceable as they were when created.

Some, such as “Using a firearm to fish is strictly forbidden” and “It is illegal to give beer to hospital patients” may even seem titteringly relevant today. Most? Not so much.

A Sample of Weird State Laws

As a small business owner, it's interesting to take a look at those weird state laws that affect your company. There are plenty of them including:

• In Carmel, California, women may not wear high heels while in the city limits. So, if you sell high-heeled shoes, make sure your customers don't wear them out.


• In Guilford, Connecticut, only white Christmas lights are allowed for display. So don't go crazy with the red, green and … er … every other color!


• In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, no person shall change clothes in his or her vehicle. Better provide employees and, potentially, customers with a changing room - to prevent the collapse of civilization.


• In Georgia, raffles can be a crime if not registered ahead of time! If an organization not recognized as “non-profit” fails to register their raffle with the local sheriff, that group risks paying up to $10,000 in fines and spending five years in jail. Does that apply to social media raffles, too? Uh oh!


• In Indiana, check forgery can be punished with public flogging up to 100 stripes. OK, as much as some local merchants might wish this was the case, let's get realistic.

The list goes on and on so here's an infographic that contains 51 of the weirdest, one from each state and from the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.).

Enjoy and remember, stay on the straight and narrow but always keep it a little weird.

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This infographic first appeared in Small Business Trends.

This article, "Weird State Laws that Affect Your Small Business (Infographic)" was first published on Small Business Trends