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Posted in D.C. July 14, 2016 by

These 15 Crazy Laws In Washington DC Will Leave You Scratching Your Head In Wonder

Washington DC can a strange place. It’s full of lawmakers and politicians, politics and policies. In the place where laws are made, you would think that it would have logic, right? Not quite. We found 15 extremely weird laws in Washington DC that will leave you scratching your head!

1. "One may not take photographs for more than 5 minutes in a public location.”
Flickr/Zorah Olivia
This law gets broken probably every day, every where. Stop Instagramming and move along!
2. “Women cannot be employed to dance with men.”
Flickr/Krisztina Konczos
Watch out dance teachers, DC is coming for you!
3. “Santa Clause may not be used to sell alcohol.”
Flickr/c_j_ryan
As tempting as it would be to buy a beer from Santa, it’s just not possible. Which is unfortunate because most people only ask for beer from Santa.
4. "It’s illegal to conduct or participate in a race, dance, or other contest for longer than 12 hours in any consecutive 24-hour period."
Flickr/Quinn Dombrowski
Let’s not tell DC about Pride Weekend.
5. It’s against the law to post a public notice calling someone a coward for refusing to accept a challenge to duel.
Flickr/Chuck_Maurice
To be clear, we’re not sure if dueling is illegal. But calling someone out for not dueling is.
6. “It’s possible to get a parking ticket for parking in your own driveway.”
Flickr/Charleston’s TheDigitel
Driving in the district is hard enough but as it turns out, you can get a ticket if your car is not completely pulled into your driveway.
7. “While you can exercise your right to freedom of speech (including lecturing or preaching to a public audience), you may not do so for more than 30 days in a row at a single location.”
Flickr/Tommy Knott
This explains so much as to why very little gets accomplished in Washington DC.
8. "It is unlawful for small boys to throw stones, at any time, at any place in the District of Columbia."
Flickr/Mrhayata
TBD on if small girls can throw stones.
9. “No Dancing Within the Jefferson Memorial”
Flickr/m01229
You can have your dance party at the Lincoln Memorial but not at The Jefferson. Weirdly enough, people have actually been arrested for this.
10. “One may not operate a surf board while on a hallucinogen”
Flickr/Wyncliffe
The question would be why would you have a surf board in a city that doesn’t have a beach?
11. "You are legally forbidden to marry your mother-in-law in Washington, D.C."
Flickr/Robert Kinter
Saving families from awkward family reunions forever.
12. "One may not whistle in the bathroom."
Flickr/Kate Ter Haar
You can sing, but not whistle. And of course, keep a lock down on the dancing.
13. "No boxing contest shall be conducted, and no contestant shall engage in a contest, between opposite sexes."
Flickr/MartialArtsNomad.com
We won’t be able to see Rhonda Rousey and Floyd Merriweather duking it out any time soon, at least not in DC.
14. "An establishment may not allow more than one accordion to be played for entertainment."
Flickr/waferboard
Does anyone ever really need more than one accordion?
15. "According to the U.S. government, it’s against the law to disseminate a false weather report."
Flickr/Random Retail
Imagine how many meteorologists would be jailed for overhyping the snow.

So how many of these weird laws in Washington DC have you broken?

Maura
Maura
Maura is a freelance writer and consultant from Washington, DC.