Repeal the ridiculous. Retire the obsolete. Abrogate the absurd.

America keeps writing laws.

Actual definition

Abrogate: to formally annul or repeal a law through legislation, constitutional authority, or custom.

Cornell Wex definition

Abrogate.org is the repeal scoreboard: a public ranking of the state and federal laws America should get rid of first. Vote for the most absurd law, share it, and help turn old legal clutter into repeal campaigns.

Vote on the top 54 Add a law
The core argument

We need to get rid of more laws than we create.

Every year legislatures add new sections, exceptions, rules, boards, crimes, fines, forms, definitions, and mandates. Some are necessary. Many become outdated. Abrogate.org turns repeal into a public scoreboard people can actually understand.

Live leaderboard

Vote for the next law to abrogate.

54 issues ripe for abrogation.

30,651 total votes
#1
State Kentucky Verified source

Kentucky anti gun dueling law

Kentucky requires all elected officials, lawyers and government representatives to swear an oath that they have never participated in a duel.

Abrogate plan: Let all politicians, government employees and lawyers engage freely in gun duels
§ 228 Source
Absurdity 100/100 4,122 votes
#2
Federal Verified source

Distilling spirits at home for personal consumption is a federal felony

While home brewing beer and wine are legally permitted nationwide, this law forbids people from making spirits in their own home.

Abrogate plan: Abrogate the federal statute that is a throwback to bootlegging from the 1920's — let freedom ring.
26 U.S.C. § 5602 Source
Absurdity 75/100 3,094 votes
#3
Federal Submitted by visitor Verified source

Marijuana laws

limits or stops marijuana from being sold or used

Abrogate plan: Abrogate any mention of the word marijuana or cannabis in any federal or state law.
21 USC 844 Source
Absurdity 63/100 2,577 votes
#4
State Michigan Verified source

Seducing an unmarried woman as a felony

An old statute makes it a felony for a man to seduce and debauch an unmarried woman.

Abrogate plan: Repeal sex-specific Victorian morality language and rely on modern consent/fraud laws.
MCL § 750.532 Source
Absurdity 57/100 2,348 votes
#5
State Missouri Verified source

Bear wrestling

Missouri specifically prohibits wrestling bears, training bears to wrestle, promoting bear wrestling, or owning a wrestling bear.

Abrogate plan: Fold into animal-cruelty law and delete spectacle-specific phrasing.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 578.176 Source
Absurdity 47/100 1,944 votes
#6
State Maryland Verified source

Adultery: $10 fine

Maryland law says a person may not commit adultery; conviction is a misdemeanor with a $10 fine.

Abrogate plan: Repeal consensual-adult morality crime sections.
Md. Code, Criminal Law § 10-501 Source
Absurdity 36/100 1,490 votes
#7
State Kentucky Verified source

Handling reptiles at religious services

Displaying, handling, or using any reptile in connection with a religious service or gathering carries a fine.

Abrogate plan: Replace with neutral animal-welfare and public-safety provisions.
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 437.060 Source
Absurdity 31/100 1,289 votes
#8
State Michigan Verified source

No public drinking on trains or interurban cars

The companion train law separately bans public drinking of intoxicating liquor on railway trains, coaches, or interurban cars.

Abrogate plan: Replace with modern transit operator rules instead of a standalone relic.
MCL § 436.202 Source
Absurdity 28/100 1,135 votes
#9
State Louisiana Verified source

Bear wrestling penalty

Louisiana defines and penalizes the crime of bear wrestling.

Abrogate plan: Consolidate into general animal fighting and cruelty laws.
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:102.10 Source
Absurdity 23/100 957 votes
#10
State Michigan Needs source review

No Sunday car sales

Michigan has long restricted Sunday sales of motor vehicles, a classic blue-law holdover.

Abrogate plan: Let dealerships choose operating hours; keep consumer-protection rules separate.
MCL § 435.251 Source
Absurdity 22/100 907 votes
#11
Meta law United States Editorial candidate

The code protects “Woodsy Owl” but no national repeal scoreboard exists

America can track mascots in criminal law, but there is no simple public scoreboard showing how many obsolete laws are repealed each year.

Abrogate plan: Create a repeal scorecard and require every new law to identify at least one obsolete law for repeal review.
18 U.S.C. § 711a + legislative tracking gap Source
Absurdity 19/100 780 votes
#12
State Michigan Verified source

Adultery is a felony

Michigan’s penal code still describes adultery as a felony, despite modern privacy expectations and rare enforcement.

Abrogate plan: Repeal consensual-adult morality crime sections.
MCL § 750.30 Source
Absurdity 15/100 605 votes
#13
State South Carolina Verified source

Seduction under promise of marriage

A male over 16 who, by deception and promise of marriage, seduces an unmarried woman is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Abrogate plan: Use modern consent and fraud concepts; repeal sex-specific archaic morality language.
S.C. Code § 16-15-50 Source
Absurdity 14/100 569 votes
#14
State Oklahoma Verified source

International Communist conspiracy declaration

The statute declares the existence of an international Communist conspiracy as a legislative fact.

Abrogate plan: Repeal ideological findings that function as Cold War residue rather than enforceable law.
21 Okla. Stat. § 1266.1 Source
Absurdity 13/100 528 votes
#15
State Massachusetts Verified source

Blasphemy as a jail offense

The statute punishes willful blasphemy with possible jail time, a fine, and being bound to good behavior.

Abrogate plan: Repeal as unconstitutional deadwood inconsistent with modern free-speech doctrine.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 36 Source
Absurdity 12/100 512 votes
#16
State Wisconsin Verified source

Margarine as a substitute for table butter

Wisconsin prohibits serving colored oleomargarine or margarine at a public eating place as a substitute for table butter unless the customer orders it.

Abrogate plan: Repeal dairy-war relics and rely on normal menu disclosure.
Wis. Stat. § 97.18(4) Source
Absurdity 11/100 464 votes
#17
State Pennsylvania Verified source

Fortune telling as a crime

Pretending for gain to tell fortunes or predict future events can be a misdemeanor of the third degree.

Abrogate plan: Use ordinary fraud statutes for actual fraud; remove fortune-telling as a named crime.
18 Pa.C.S. § 7104 Source
Absurdity 10/100 423 votes
#18
State New York Verified source

Sunday labor prohibited

New York’s Sabbath article still says all labor on Sunday is prohibited except works of necessity and charity.

Abrogate plan: Repeal unused blue-law language and keep modern labor protections separate.
N.Y. General Business Law § 5 Source
Absurdity 10/100 415 votes
#19
State New Hampshire Verified source

No collecting seaweed at night

Taking seaweed or rockweed from below the high-water mark between evening daylight and morning daylight is a violation.

Abrogate plan: Turn this into a modern coastal resource rule, or repeal if obsolete.
N.H. Rev. Stat. § 207:48 Source
Absurdity 9/100 381 votes
#20
State Michigan Verified source

Cursing and swearing by God

The penal code still contains a cursing-and-swearing offense tied to profane use of religious names.

Abrogate plan: Repeal religious profanity as a criminal category.
MCL § 750.103 Source
Absurdity 9/100 356 votes
#21
State California Verified source

Dead frog-jumping contest frogs may not be eaten

A frog used in a frog-jumping contest that dies must be destroyed as soon as possible and cannot be eaten or otherwise used.

Abrogate plan: Replace with a general humane-treatment rule for contest animals.
Cal. Fish & Game Code § 6883 Source
Absurdity 8/100 318 votes
#22
State Oklahoma Verified source

Bear wrestling and horse tripping

Oklahoma law directly bans bear-wrestling exhibitions and horse-tripping events.

Abrogate plan: Preserve animal-cruelty protections; rewrite without carnival-era specificity.
21 Okla. Stat. § 1700 Source
Absurdity 7/100 301 votes
#23
State New York Verified source

Sunday trades, manufacturers, and mechanical employments prohibited

The code separately targets trades, manufactures, agricultural, and mechanical employments on the first day of the week.

Abrogate plan: Repeal duplicative blue-law language.
N.Y. General Business Law § 8 Source
Absurdity 7/100 277 votes
#24
State Massachusetts Verified source

No Star-Spangled Banner dance music

The law fines certain public performances of the national anthem as dance music, medleys, exit marches, or embellished versions.

Abrogate plan: Move patriotic etiquette to civic guidance, not criminal fines.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 264, § 9 Source
Absurdity 7/100 277 votes
#25
Federal United States Verified source

Misuse of Woodsy Owl or the slogan “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute”

Federal criminal law protects Woodsy Owl and the anti-pollution slogan from unauthorized use.

Abrogate plan: Move mascot and slogan protection to trademark/licensing rules.
18 U.S.C. § 711a Source
Absurdity 6/100 263 votes
#26
Federal United States Verified source

Flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery

The U.S. Flag Code states the flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery.

Abrogate plan: Keep as etiquette guidance, not a code section voters confuse for enforceable law.
4 U.S.C. § 8(d) Source
Absurdity 6/100 254 votes
#27
State New York Verified source

No dyed baby chicks, ducklings, or rabbits

New York prohibits selling, offering, bartering, or displaying artificially colored baby chicks, ducklings, other fowl, or baby rabbits.

Abrogate plan: If retained, modernize under animal-welfare labeling rather than odd novelty bans.
N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law § 354 Source
Absurdity 6/100 245 votes
#28
State Alabama Verify current wording

Driving while blindfolded

Alabama traffic law expressly says a person shall not drive a vehicle while loaded or situated so the driver’s view is obstructed, and strange-law lists often cite it as the blindfolded-driving law.

Abrogate plan: Replace the novelty language with a general distracted/obstructed driving rule.
Ala. Code § 32-5A-53 Source
Absurdity 6/100 233 votes
#29
Federal United States Verified source

Unauthorized use of “Johnny Horizon” symbol

A federal criminal statute protects the old Johnny Horizon environmental symbol from unauthorized use.

Abrogate plan: Review whether obscure federal mascot protections still need criminal penalties.
18 U.S.C. § 714 Source
Absurdity 6/100 231 votes
#30
State New York Verified source

No serving civil process on Sunday

Service or execution of civil legal process on the first day of the week is prohibited, except in criminal proceedings.

Abrogate plan: Let courts regulate service deadlines without Sabbath-era bans.
N.Y. General Business Law § 11 Source
Absurdity 5/100 225 votes
#31
Federal United States Verified source

Misuse of Smokey Bear

Federal law specifically bars unauthorized use of Smokey Bear’s name or character in certain ways.

Abrogate plan: Move mascot protection to trademark and agency licensing rules.
18 U.S.C. § 711 Source
Absurdity 5/100 220 votes
#32
State North Carolina Verified source

Bingo sessions limited to five hours

Charitable bingo sessions are limited to two per week, 48 hours apart, and no more than five hours each.

Abrogate plan: Replace micromanagement with transparent charitable-gaming reporting rules.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-309.8 Source
Absurdity 5/100 209 votes
#33
State New York Needs source review

Public sports and exercises on Sunday

The same Sabbath article includes a provision for public sports and exercises on Sunday.

Abrogate plan: Repeal outdated blue-law sections; let parks, leagues, and municipalities regulate events normally.
N.Y. General Business Law § 7 Source
Absurdity 5/100 199 votes
#34
State Michigan Verified source

Offensive drunkenness on a train

A 1913 law bars being on or remaining upon a railway train or interurban car while in an offensive state of intoxication.

Abrogate plan: Fold into modern disorderly-conduct and transit-safety laws.
MCL § 436.201 Source
Absurdity 5/100 188 votes
#35
State New York Needs source review

Public traffic on Sunday

New York’s Sabbath article includes a public-traffic-on-Sunday provision among a cluster of blue-law sections.

Abrogate plan: Repeal obsolete Sabbath traffic language unless a modern safety rule remains necessary.
N.Y. General Business Law § 9 Source
Absurdity 4/100 178 votes
#36
State New York Verified source

Minimum six baby chicks or rabbits

The same statute bans giving away or selling baby chicks, ducklings, fowl, or baby rabbits under two months old in quantities less than six.

Abrogate plan: Keep animal-care standards; reassess arbitrary quantity rules.
N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law § 354(3) Source
Absurdity 4/100 161 votes
#37
State Virginia Verified source

Abusive language likely to provoke breach of peace

Using abusive language concerning another person or their relations can be a misdemeanor if reasonably calculated to provoke a breach of peace.

Abrogate plan: Narrow speech crimes to true threats, harassment, and direct incitement.
Va. Code § 18.2-416 Source
Absurdity 4/100 156 votes
#38
Federal United States Verified source

False weather reports

Federal law penalizes knowingly issuing or publishing counterfeit weather forecasts or warnings falsely representing that they came from the Weather Bureau or another government service.

Abrogate plan: Update wording for modern emergency alerts, apps, and digital impersonation.
18 U.S.C. § 2074 Source
Absurdity 4/100 151 votes
#39
Federal United States Verified source

False weather reports

Federal law penalizes knowingly issuing or publishing counterfeit weather forecasts or warnings falsely representing that they came from the Weather Bureau or another government service.

Abrogate plan: Update wording for modern emergency alerts, apps, and digital impersonation.
18 U.S.C. § 2074 Source
Absurdity 4/100 149 votes
#40
State Alabama Needs source review

Pretending to be a minister, priest, rabbi, or clergy member

An old morality-style offense makes false personation of clergy a misdemeanor, even before any separate fraud or theft occurs.

Abrogate plan: Keep fraud laws; repeal status-based clergy impersonation as a standalone offense.
Ala. Code § 13A-14-4 Source
Absurdity 4/100 145 votes
#41
State Idaho Verified source

Cannibalism has its own statute

Idaho specifically defines cannibalism as willfully ingesting the flesh or blood of a human being, with a narrow survival defense.

Abrogate plan: Review whether a specific standalone offense adds anything beyond homicide, abuse of corpse, and assault laws.
Idaho Code § 18-5003 Source
Absurdity 3/100 143 votes
#42
Federal United States Verified source

Misuse of the Swiss Confederation coat of arms

Federal law criminalizes certain commercial use of the Swiss coat of arms or similar insignia.

Abrogate plan: Evaluate whether trademark, customs, or fraud law already covers the risk.
18 U.S.C. § 708 Source
Absurdity 3/100 133 votes
#43
State Maryland Verified source

Standing near a highway to solicit vehicle-watching work

A person may not stand on or near a highway to solicit another person to watch or guard a parked vehicle.

Abrogate plan: Let general pedestrian-safety and solicitation laws handle real hazards.
Md. Transportation § 21-507 Source
Absurdity 3/100 120 votes
#44
Federal United States Verified source

Unauthorized use of 4-H Club emblems

Federal law criminalizes unauthorized manufacture, sale, or use of 4-H Club badges, medals, emblems, and insignia.

Abrogate plan: Move youth-program marks to civil trademark/licensing enforcement.
18 U.S.C. § 707 Source
Absurdity 3/100 119 votes
#45
State regulation Maryland Verified source

No throwing missiles in state forests

Maryland forest regulations prohibit throwing missiles to the annoyance of the public, alongside disorderly conduct rules.

Abrogate plan: Rewrite in plain modern language: no throwing objects at people, wildlife, or property.
COMAR 08.07.01.20 Source
Absurdity 3/100 113 votes
#46
State New York Needs source review

No altered milk cans

New York still has detailed milk-can rules that read like leftovers from a very different dairy economy.

Abrogate plan: Modernize or repeal obsolete physical-container provisions.
N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law, milk can provisions Source
Absurdity 3/100 109 votes
#47
State North Dakota Verified source

Dry Pea and Lentil Council citizenship requirement

Council members for the dry pea and lentil council must be U.S. citizens and participating producers in their district.

Abrogate plan: Review whether commodity boards need citizenship qualifications at all.
N.D. Cent. Code § 4.1-07-03 Source
Absurdity 2/100 98 votes
#48
State New York Needs source review

Big-cat selfies need a barrier

New York restricts direct contact with big cats, a law popularly summarized as a ban on tiger selfies without a barrier.

Abrogate plan: Keep animal-safety rules but make the law readable for ordinary visitors and facilities.
N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 11-0535 Source
Absurdity 2/100 92 votes
#49
State Minnesota Verified source

Bingo prize caps by game

Minnesota law caps prize values for bingo games with detailed exceptions for cover-all and cover-none games.

Abrogate plan: Simplify charitable-gaming limits so ordinary people can understand them.
Minn. Stat. § 349.211 Source
Absurdity 2/100 89 votes
#50
State Maryland Verified source

No soliciting rides, employment, or business from a roadway

Maryland bars standing in a roadway to solicit a ride, employment, or business from vehicle occupants.

Abrogate plan: Use general roadway safety rules and avoid broad bans on speech-adjacent activity.
Md. Transportation § 21-507(a) Source
Absurdity 2/100 84 votes
#51
Federal United States Verified source

Misuse of the Red Cross emblem

Federal law gives special criminal protection to the Red Cross emblem, name, and related insignia.

Abrogate plan: Keep humanitarian emblem protection but clarify scope for modern brand and digital use.
18 U.S.C. § 706 Source
Absurdity 2/100 83 votes
#52
State New York Needs source review

No docking horse tails

New York prohibits cutting or operating on a horse’s tail in specified ways, a relic of older carriage and horse-trade practices.

Abrogate plan: Review alongside modern animal cruelty and veterinary practice rules.
N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law § 368 Source
Absurdity 2/100 75 votes
#53
Federal United States Needs source review

Use of “Swiss” on gold or silver articles

Federal law regulates the use of “Swiss” or similar words on gold or silver articles in contexts that suggest Swiss origin.

Abrogate plan: Fold into general origin-labeling and consumer deception laws.
15 U.S.C. § 297 Source
Absurdity 2/100 75 votes
#54
State Arkansas Verified source

The official pronunciation of Arkansas

State law declares the final “s” silent and tells people exactly how Arkansas should be pronounced.

Abrogate plan: Move this to a history note, not a code section.
Ark. Code § 1-4-105 Source
Absurdity 1/100 42 votes
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Articles

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