Posted: July 27, 2010
Weird rules still on the books in metro Detroit
Some may discriminate, be unconstitutional

It's a crime to sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" at a dance in Michigan. Having a sandwich and a drink in a cemetery is a no-no in Fenton. And throwing snowballs is illegal in Clawson.

Written decades ago, dozens of unusual, amusing and sometimes unconstitutional laws are still on the books in Michigan and in metro Detroit communities, a Free Press review of thousands of pages of state and local laws shows.


Many of the local ordinances -- bans on spitting in church in Harper Woods and white canes in public unless you're blind in Pontiac -- were enacted in the early 20th Century after the state passed a bill in 1895 permitting communities to criminalize so-called immoral behavior.


Legal experts and personal liberty groups say there's nothing stopping police from enforcing these laws -- and some have.


"While we can all laugh about how outdated these ordinances and laws are, it is no laughing matter when they are enforced," said Michael Steinberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
More here: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...te=fullarticle

Some strange things included for sure!!