5 Weirdest Tennessee Laws You Won't Believe Existed
By Jason Hall
October 2, 2020
Tennessee has some weird laws.
The Volunteer State is a common representative on many websites listing "weirdest state laws." The phrases "Tennessee litigation" and "southern justice" hold different meanings with these strange examples.
In some cases, older laws may have been forgotten and kept in tact without current lawmakers even realizing it. Different times called for different measures and perhaps some seem outdated to even be mentioned.
Other recent laws may have you scratching your head as to why they'd even need to be acknowledged in the first place.
Here are five of the weirdest laws in Tennessee.
Spitting, eating ice cream is prohibited on sidewalks (Lexington)
Lexington is a small town in West Tennessee just outside of Jackson. According to OnlyInYourState.com, it's also a town where it's illegal to spit on sidewalks.
Additionally, ActiveRain.com reports it's also illegal to eat ice cream on the sidewalk. It seems like the town is very cautious in keeping its sidewalks clean.
Netflix password sharing is illegal
In 2011, Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill that made it illegal to share login information for sites that provide music and movies. That means it's illegal to share your Netflix password with someone else.
The law was pushed by industry professionals and the first of its kind in that it is actually an update for a bill that punished cable theft by making additions for internet.
Smuggling skunks across state lines is illegal
Bad news for anyone looking to take a skunk on a visit to Tennessee. According to a 2010 Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency code, it is "unlawful for any person to import, possess, or cause to be imported into this state any type of live skunk, or to sell, barter, exchange or otherwise transfer any live skunk" with the exception being zoological parks and research institutions.
Roadkill can be consumed
It's legal to consume roadkill in Tennessee. Gross, isn't it?
According to Tennessee Code 70-4-115, if an animal killed by a motor vehicle is not a non-game or federally protected wildlife species, you may possess it for your personal use and consumption.
Giraffes can be kept as pets
Some species are prohibited to be kept as pets in Tennessee, while others require a TWRA permit. Among the approved pets are giraffes, which aren't common in the Volunteer State, but legal to keep nonetheless.
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