Remember when you were a kid, coming home from school, hurriedly putting on your winter gear, and running outside to play with your friends for those few hours of light left? Sometimes sledding, other times making snow angels, and most fun of all having giant snowball fights? Well apparently kids from a town in Missouri will never have that opportunity or any of those fun times.
How about this for some winter fun? In Belton, Missouri it is actually illegal to have a snowball fight!!! As per their law, cited under "Throwing Missiles" snowball fights are in fact illegal. The actual law say in rambling and quite technical terms that "No person shall throw any stone, snowball, or any other missile upon any vehicle, building, tree, or other public or private property, or upon any person in any public or private way or place or enclosed or unenclosed grounds."
So basically, for those of us without law degrees who aren't used to copiously reading through multiple paragraphs of script all pertaining to things that could have easily been stated much more legibly (so people could actually understand), no one can have a snowball fight there. Ever.
Although I can actually see the merit to this law, protecting public and private property from destruction, it still shouldn't lead to a law banning harmless childhood fun! Sure, people could be mean and do the things mentioned in the original law such as throw things at vehicles and possibly causing an accident or onto property, causing costly damages but that's no reason to outlaw snowball fights! Someone could even get injured but hopefully you're cognizant enough of the fact that a snowball fight is brewing or already in place around you to avoid being hit.
It's hard enough for kids today to be motivated enough to go outside and play with their friends, why not let them have some sort of outlet after spending all day in school? We should be encouraging kids to play, not banning it!
Banning childhood fun? No thanks. It's a parent's job to warn children of the dangers of fun! Like rocks in snowballs, etc. The government should have no part in it. I wonder what the Missouri kids do when it snows...
ReplyDeleteThis is one odd law! Why would the government ban kids from having a little fun outdoors? It's better than sitting inside all day playing xbox or watching TV. Kids should be allowed to be kids as long as they are not harming others.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this is an odd law, I think it's a CRUEL law! I still have snowball fights with my friends at the age of nineteen. I can't imagine growing up and not having a snowball fight. When you think of winter, you think of Christmas and snowball fights. This is just wrong!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, we couldn't have snowball fights either so I feel these kids pain. Instead we were forced to go to the beach and play untimate frizbee and other horrible outside games. haha but on a semi-serious note I wish I could have had an awesome winter childhood like in the movies. I envy all of you who got to grow up in the snow.
ReplyDeleteGood thing this law doesn't exist in University Park, PA! Snowballs can do some serious damage, but mostly to the ego. Are kids who still have snowball fights in Missouri serious bad-asses? I'm imagining a juvenile delinquent detention facility filled with kids from the wrong side of the tracks who turned to snowball fights just to keep from getting whacked. A black market for snow machines. Snowball gangs. In general, definitely a dumb law.
ReplyDeleteWow Will I feel you man.
ReplyDeleteErrrr it never really snows in California so I can't really relate to this but I think the state of Missouri is concerned the kids are gonna catch a cold if they snow fight. Who lives in Missouri again?
This law is so ridiculous! Those poor kids living in Missouri :(. I love the fact though the way they worded the law to make it sound so official and professional while they are just talking about a simple snowball fight.
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