MONROE, La (KNOE 8 News) - This week we look over some strange laws that make sense, but will have you wondering how they went into effect in the first place.
We all know better than to take things that don't belong to us, but in Louisiana, specifically, you're not allowed to take alligators or crawfish because it's the law.
That's right. Take a crawfish from a farm or an alligator off of someone else's hook, dead or alive, and you could face up to 10 years in prison or a $3,000 fine!
It was specifically made a law because,"People make their livelihood off of raising crawfish and alligators and if people start stealing their animals or destroying them that's doing away with their livelihood.", Ouachita Parish District Judge Wilson Rambo explains.
Joe Clawson of the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo, adds, "in the south these are no nonsense laws, it's absolutely laws of import."
Remember, "if it's someone else's property, don't take it!"
We all know signing a document when you don't mean it can lead to trouble, but did you also know, you can get into some serious trouble - by just saying something you don't mean"
Actually, you have to do more than just lie. To get slapped with a 500 dollar fine you have to lie when it has serious repercussions.
"There's applications, as in paperwork that's filed with intentions of money or benefits or things of that nature. Other statutes might be violated as well but that could be false swearing.", says Judge Wilson Rambo.
When in doubt, do what's right, don't lie!
"Pointing a laser at a police officer doesn't seem like that big of an offense but don't do it here in Louisiana because there's a law against it.", April Dovorany reports.
Even a toy laser into someone's eyes, if there was a car chase or something of that nature that could blind them momentarily and that might be enough to cause a wreck.
"if I'm a police officer and I'm out on the scene and I see a red dot on my chest at that point I've got to take action.",adds Judge Wilson Rambo.
It could lead to serious consequences, like... a $500 fine or 6 months in jail.
The lesson here? Lasers are not a toy.
Next week, we'll wrap up the series with a look at two laws that you might not even know you're breaking, and we'll tell you why these laws are still on the books - even when some of them are no longer relevant.
