Michigan Legislature Votes To Void Old Crimes like Accepting Duels, Cursing

LANSING (AP/WWJ) - Outdated crimes such as cursing in front of women or children would no longer be on Michigan's books under legislation headed to Gov. Rick Snyder's desk.

The state Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to repeal a number of laws. They include prohibitions against ads related to sexually transmitted diseases, accepting a challenge to a duel and performing the national anthem in public "without embellishments or other melodies."

Other old and unenforced laws that would be deleted include restrictions against certain endurance contests such as walkathons and stealing vegetables from a garden. Michigan would still have broader penalties for trespassing and larceny.

"I think people ask, why bother taking them off the books?" said Rep. Chris Afendoulis of Rockford, when the House was voting on the issue in August. "A law that is not enforced is not worth having."

Afendoulis said some of these laws are unconstitutional.

"Each day, citizens around our great state are violating laws that they're not even aware of," he said.

Another bill going to Snyder would make it a civil infraction rather than a misdemeanor to leave trash at a state park campsite.