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The Daily Signal
Laws Like This Play a Terrible Trick on Children
Lucas Drill & GianCarlo Canaparo
Halloween is the spookiest night of the year, when millions of monsters
and supernatural creatures of the night (often accompanied by their
parents) stalk peaceful communities and extort candy from good people
under threats of mischief.
These rambunctious ghouls and goblins are only looking for fun, sweets,
and a bit of playful fright. But there is something that should terrify
trick-or-treaters (and their parents) more than haunting ghosts,
blood-thirsty vampires, prowling werewolves, or even a jack-o’-lantern
in space: sinister city council members trying to hand out criminal
convictions like candy.
The City Council of Chesapeake, Virginia, has outlawed any child over
the age of 14 from trick-or-treating under penalty of a misdemeanor
conviction and fines up to $250. The council also mandated that
trick-or-treating end sharply at 8 p.m.
Last year, before the council revised the law, children 12 or older
were forbidden to trick or treat under penalty of up to six months
imprisonment.
Frighteningly, Chesapeake’s ordinance is one of the least restrictive
among cities in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. In addition to
halting door-to-door fun at 8 p.m., Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk,
Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and others
criminalize trick-or-treating beyond the age of 12.
Moreover, the criminalization of a tradition for children doesn’t end
at Virginia’s state border. Cities in Illinois and Mississippi also
prohibit anyone over the age of 12 from participating in
trick-or-treating activities.
Chesapeake and other cities such as Belleville, Illinois, have
attempted to defend their ordinances by claiming that they never before
have been enforced, but, according to Chesapeake’s website, “give
police an option, should things get out of hand on Halloween.”
Chesapeake officials also point to an earlier occurrence, in the 1960s,
where things did get “out of hand” because of some rowdy teenagers with
fireworks.
In defense of his city’s ordinance, Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert claims
that it addresses fears held by “young single moms” and senior citizens
of “big kids” in high school who have the ability to act aggressively
toward homes and homeowners.
Nevertheless, the possibility of some older children acting
mischievously or even belligerently is no reason to criminalize the
innocent behavior of thousands of others.
Most kids simply want to collect candy and spend a festive evening with
friends and families, and other laws already prohibit breaking and
entering, vandalism, or assault for those who do get “out of hand.”
Creating new laws to punish otherwise blameless behavior serves no
legitimate government interest and contributes to the growing problem
of overcriminalization—the overuse and abuse of the criminal law to
address every societal problem and punish every mistake.
Heritage Foundation scholars have written extensively about
overcriminalization, and, unfortunately, not even holidays like
Halloween are beyond its tentacles.
Laws that never have been enforced should not be kept around as potential safeguards against potentially bad behavior.
Instead of feeding the wild beast of overcriminalization, as
communities reflect on their Halloween and kids recover from their
sugar highs, cities with ridiculous bans on trick-or-treating should
rethink their priorities and help combat the rampant spread of the
misuse of criminal law.
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