Stupid Halloween Laws

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

We have rules and have always had rules growing up. No fines, but we had set times. Nice to know when to plan for. Just ended now. I don't see the issue personally.

Everywhere I have ever lived had set hours for Trick or Treat. I don't see the big deal?

You seriously don't see the big deal with the government telling you when you can and cannot walk around your neighbourhood and visit your neighbours? And you don't see a big deal with the parents of children who are out past 7 pm in costume being fined $200?

Aren't you in New Brunswick? To be fair to that city, haven't they had major problems with vandalism... like cars burning in the street on Halloween??
I can see where you might get a little inclined to regulate things if you have a Halloween culture that's, well, devilish.

But what town doesn't? I'm not saying it's right that vandalism happens on Halloween. That's why the police are usually out in full force. But the "trick" part seems to rear its head in every town/village/city.

Also, I don't see how creating these laws and charging the parents of children who are obviously trick or treating is really going to stop criminals from doing criminal activities. These people are breaking major laws as is. What makes the government think that criminals will obey this law?

I'm talking about Bathurst, New Brunswick. The incident your speaking of with the arson and the antique cars was in a different place called Tracadie.

 

[Becky2005]

Here in Chicago suburb, it was 3-7 p.m. Who's home at 3 p.m.?

Age casting like that is really hard. My DS was 6 foot tall at age 13, and had been shaving for a couple of years. Several of his friends are in the same boat. Does your area require a note from their mom stating their real age, or do they need to be carrying their birth certificate? Seems a little silly.

Our hours said 3-6 though which I thought *must* be a typo as it's usually unitl 8 pm. The thing is though, not everyone gets the paper to even SEE the timeframe. It's just an unstated rule about 8 pm 90% of the porch lights go off. I actually tried looking on our town website and there was no information whatsoever on it.

As for the age thing, I agree, it would be nearly impossible. My DD is 14 (barely cracking 5') and in 9th grade. She went TOT with a neighbor friend who is in 7th grade and much taller than her. My DD gets mistaken all the time for much younger than she is. So, going by the criteria, her friend who was still in the correct age group would be getting in trouble yet my DD who is older would be considered "correct age".

Flip the coin over to my older DS who is 11 and tall, because of his height he has been mistaken for older than he is.

If you put my 2 older ones together, there is just a small amount of height difference between them, yet 3 years difference.

 

[MichelleVW]

You seriously don't see the big deal with the government telling you when you can and cannot walk around your neighbourhood and visit your neighbours? And you don't see a big deal with the parents of children who are out past 7 pm in costume being fined $200?



.

Trick or treating is not the same thing as going to visit my neighbors, and I really doubt that the police would care enough to give someone a ticket for wearing a costume.

So, no I don't have a problem with the government setting the house of TRICK OR TREAT.

 

[DISUNC]

I don't see a thread about this already but I apologize if I'm being repetitive.

I heard something on the radio today that really upset me, maybe more than it should have. A city in my province made all these laws regarding Halloween. Kids can't start trick or treat before 5 pm and they have to be off the roads by 7 pm. Anyone caught in a costume in public after 7 pm can be fined up to $200. In addition, no one over the age of 14 is allowed to trick or treat. (I guess it would be better if they were under-aged drinking somewhere instead of acting like a kid.) I feel so sorry for the kids in that town.

What kind of bizarro world is this turning into? When I was growing up, there were no Halloween rules and certainly no laws or fines. If it continues like this, why not just outlaw Halloween all together? Are there strange laws like this weree you come from?

Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeediculous Laws!

 

[lovesmurfs]

Our hours said 3-6 though which I thought *must* be a typo as it's usually unitl 8 pm. The thing is though, not everyone gets the paper to even SEE the timeframe. It's just an unstated rule about 8 pm 90% of the porch lights go off. I actually tried looking on our town website and there was no information whatsoever on it.

As for the age thing, I agree, it would be nearly impossible. My DD is 14 (barely cracking 5') and in 9th grade. She went TOT with a neighbor friend who is in 7th grade and much taller than her. My DD gets mistaken all the time for much younger than she is. So, going by the criteria, her friend who was still in the correct age group would be getting in trouble yet my DD who is older would be considered "correct age".

Flip the coin over to my older DS who is 11 and tall, because of his height he has been mistaken for older than he is.

If you put my 2 older ones together, there is just a small amount of height difference between them, yet 3 years difference.

I googled our town and trick-or-treating hours and found a helpful website:

http://www.hauntedillinois.com/trickortreatinghours.php

 

[Stitchfans]

I agree..

No time constraints or age restraints here - and guess what? They can acutally trick-or-treat on Halloween!!!!

I'm telling you - thanks to the PC groups and special interest groups - they're sucking the life out of all of the fun activities and holidays that children have been celebrating for years and years and years..

I also agree 100%. Sure isn't the same as when I was a kid. We had a lot more fun.

 

[Northstar]

Yeah, I do agree that it takes away from the fun of things and it's a shame that this is necessary in some places.... but ...

But what town doesn't? I'm not saying it's right that vandalism happens on Halloween. That's why the police are usually out in full force. But the "trick" part seems to rear its head in every town/village/city.

Nope. Sure, soap on windows, TP and smashed pumpkins... but not roadblocks with bonfires.

Also, I don't see how creating these laws and charging the parents of children who are obviously trick or treating is really going to stop criminals from doing criminal activities. These people are breaking major laws as is. What makes the government think that criminals will obey this law?[/QUOTE]

I think one of the intents of the regulation is to get the kids indoors before the craziness gets started... for their own safety. Also so that police, parents, and homeowners know that when they hear shouts and things going bump in the night after dark, that is not kids having fun but lawbreakers taking advantage of the excuse of Halloween to really cut loose.

I'm talking about Bathurst, New Brunswick. The incident your speaking of with the arson and the antique cars was in a different place called Tracadie.[/QUOTE]

Sure, but that whole area has had a long tradition of problems with major cutting loose on Halloween for years and years.


I don't know... I see both sides of it. I love Halloween and I would be seriously upset if it had to be this controlled in my area... but I would also be seriously upset if I had to worry what my kids would be seeing and what the police might be dealing with, every Halloween.

 

[Belle2667]

TOT has always been the Friday night before the clocks change. This year it happened to fall on Halloween. Our set time is 6:00 - 8:00.

I think it's smart to do it on a Friday; then the teachers don't have to deal with kids crashing from sugar-highs. Plus, it makes it more convenient to plan parties, both at school and at home for pre- and/or post- TOT.

Most of the kids I know generally stop TOT when they hit high school. There is no set age limits that I am aware of.

 

[Ppufi]

Regulations like that on Halloween are just dumb. This is a kid's fun night; I hate how parent groups try to screw around with it. They were allowed to have good Halloweens, but we aren't?

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Trick or treating is not the same thing as going to visit my neighbors, and I really doubt that the police would care enough to give someone a ticket for wearing a costume.

So, no I don't have a problem with the government setting the house of TRICK OR TREAT.

Obviously they would give out these fines or why else would they put this law in place? And if people like you actually thought that the police wouldn't bother fining people, they would just break the law and keep trick or treating, right? So what's the point of the law?

Nope. Sure, soap on windows, TP and smashed pumpkins... but not roadblocks with bonfires.

Sure, but that whole area has had a long tradition of problems with major cutting loose on Halloween for years and years.

I don't know... I see both sides of it. I love Halloween and I would be seriously upset if it had to be this controlled in my area... but I would also be seriously upset if I had to worry what my kids would be seeing and what the police might be dealing with, every Halloween.

Ok. I've googled Bathurst and Halloween and I can't see any news reports about these huge problems that they've been having year after year. I haven't been able to find info about these bonfire roadblocks. Also, if a city is having these kinds of problems, go after the guilty people, not the innocent trick or treaters. Like I said, I fail to see how creating this curfew and fine is going to stop "bad" people from doing "bad" things.

And you don't have to worry bout what you kids might see if you are right there beside them to protect them and take them home if need be. That's just common sense no matter where you live.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We moved from Stark County, OH several years ago and TOT is always from 3-5 on the Sunday before Halloween. Here in my part of KY, it is always on Halloween from 6-8. I like it better here.

 

[TDC Nala]

Here they have "parties" for the sex offenders downtown. Really! They are required to report at 5 PM unless they are working and stay until 10 PM unless they are working. They have to prove that they are working to opt out, if they don't and whereabouts are unknown a warrant is immediately issued for their arrest and an APB is put out on them. From what I heard, it really is a party. They have pizza and soda and watch Halloween movies or whatever. It seems stupid but I guess it does keep them off the streets and away from their homes on Halloween. Guess officials were worried that just telling sex offenders to stay in their homes with lights off could lead to someone inviting just one kid inside...and that's all it takes.

Oh, great idea, get these guys together so they can trade email addresses.

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

I don't see a thread about this already but I apologize if I'm being repetitive.

I heard something on the radio today that really upset me, maybe more than it should have. A city in my province made all these laws regarding Halloween. Kids can't start trick or treat before 5 pm and they have to be off the roads by 7 pm. Anyone caught in a costume in public after 7 pm can be fined up to $200. In addition, no one over the age of 14 is allowed to trick or treat. (I guess it would be better if they were under-aged drinking somewhere instead of acting like a kid.) I feel so sorry for the kids in that town.

What kind of bizarro world is this turning into? When I was growing up, there were no Halloween rules and certainly no laws or fines. If it continues like this, why not just outlaw Halloween all together? Are there strange laws like this weree you come from?

As strange as it sounds it happens in a lot of places. But something has happened some place to make them set these rules.
As for kids being out before 5 I think that is fine. Let people get home from work and get ready for kids showing up. As far as ending at 7 why not. Why do they need to be out for more than 2 hours?
As far as putting an age limit not so sure if 14 is the age to end. But I know my DD stopped going out before that. I think she was 10.She felt it was lame. (her words not mine)
I know growing up we only went on our street and that was it. But now kids go all over the place.
My brother gets over 600 kids a year. There is not that many kids on his block.
I would think they are doing this as a safety thing more than anything

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

As strange as it sounds it happens in a lot of places. But something has happened some place to make them set these rules.
As for kids being out before 5 I think that is fine. Let people get home from work and get ready for kids showing up. As far as ending at 7 why not. Why do they need to be out for more than 2 hours?
As far as putting an age limit not so sure if 14 is the age to end. But I know my DD stopped going out before that. I think she was 10.She felt it was lame. (her words not mine)

I guess I don't think it's the government's place to make these decisions. Shouldn't it be up to a parent to decide when their child is too old for ToTing or at what time they have to be off the streets? I don't think the police should be able to fine me for walking down my street wearing a costume. Every year it seems that we willingly give the government more and more control over things in our lives and I don't think it's right. What's next? Are they going to put rules around our Christmas carolling?

I also don't see how these rules really work to curb violence or vandalism. Nobody has been able to explain that to me yet.

And I clearly have a much different childhood experience than you. We would go out right after school and come in around 9 or so. We would go anywhere and everywhere that we could in that time period. There were never houses that didn't participate. I really don't see the harm in any of that. It's one night a year.

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

I guess I don't think it's the government's place to make these decisions. Shouldn't it be up to a parent to decide when their child is too old for ToTing or at what time they have to be off the streets? I don't think the police should be able to fine me for walking down my street wearing a costume. Every year it seems that we willingly give the government more and more control over things in our lives and I don't think it's right. What's next? Are they going to put rules around our Christmas carolling?

I also don't see how these rules really work to curb violence or vandalism. Nobody has been able to explain that to me yet.

And I clearly have a much different childhood experience than you. We would go out right after school and come in around 9 or so. We would go anywhere and everywhere that we could in that time period. There were never houses that didn't participate. I really don't see the harm in any of that. It's one night a year.

It should be up to the parent to decide but that does not always happen in this day and age. Some kids will say how come Johnnie gets to still go blah blah blah. So instead of fighting them they let them go. I do not really care about the age thing.
As far as the fine goes I think the cops have better things to do. But I bet a lot of crime happens later and if everyone is dressed up then it makes it hard to find the person involed.
But as I always say to a friend of mine at work if you do not like the rules then run for office and try and change them. That is all you can do

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

It should be up to the parent to decide but that does not always happen in this day and age. Some kids will say how come Johnnie gets to still go blah blah blah. So instead of fighting them they let them go. I do not really care about the age thing.
As far as the fine goes I think the cops have better things to do. But I bet a lot of crime happens later and if everyone is dressed up then it makes it hard to find the person involed.
But as I always say to a friend of mine at work if you do not like the rules then run for office and try and change them. That is all you can do

Ummm...no. That's not how it works here. If you don't like the rules, you organize yourselves and speak to your representatives. They are in office to represent YOU. Everyone doesn't have to be an elected official in order to have a voice in their own community.

As far as using the law in place of parenting, you don't see that as a very slippery and unhealthy slope?

And again, you would think that the cops had better things to do but you know what they were doing last night in Bathurst? Handing out fines to the parents of children who broke curfew. Talk about a waste of resources. That was exactly my point to begin with.

 

[SHAYMARAYSMOM]

Ummm...no. That's not how it works here. If you don't like the rules, you organize yourselves and speak to your representatives. They are in office to represent YOU. Everyone doesn't have to be an elected official in order to have a voice in their own community.

As far as using the law in place of parenting, you don't see that as a very slippery and unhealthy slope?

And again, you would think that the cops had better things to do but you know what they were doing last night in Bathurst? Handing out fines to the parents of children who broke curfew. Talk about a waste of resources. That was exactly my point to begin with.

One would think the cops have better things to do. I wonder how many tickets they do really give out.
Has anyone asked why they have set these laws/rules up? I would highly doubt it was done on the fly.

 

[JimmyPicker]

I agree that it should be up to the parents and not the government.

But it isn't really the government making these rules. It's the local police departments. And if the police have reason to think that it may not be safe for youngsters after a certain time, I can respect that.

It's just like during times of natural disasters. I'm not comparing Halloween to a natural disaster by any means. Just that if the police know it isn't going to be safe, they give mandatory curfews, or mandatory evacuation orders.

Their job is to protect and serve. They're only trying to protect the little ones. It probably has a lot to do with more mischeif happening later in the night and they want to curtail as much of it as possible.

And yes, I fondly remember my trick or treating days, where there were no rules except to get more candy than anyone else.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

One would think the cops have better things to do. I wonder how many tickets they do really give out.
Has anyone asked why they have set these laws/rules up? I would highly doubt it was done on the fly.

Yes, we've already discussed that. They were set up supposedly to curb violence and vandalism. While I recognize those as real problem, my point has been that I don't see how that course of action will actual solve the problem. They basically want to get the law-breakers off the streets earlier. But if they have no respect for the law in the first place, why would they obey the curfew law? So, what's the point of making the law in the first place?

And again, if they actually don't give out tickets than that makes the law null and void. People will know that the law isn't being enforced and just ignore. So again...what good does the law do?

I agree that it should be up to the parents and not the government.

But it isn't really the government making these rules. It's the local police departments. And if the police have reason to think that it may not be safe for youngsters after a certain time, I can respect that.

It wasn't the police that made the rule; it was the municipal government. And I don't disagree with keeping young people safe; I just don't see how this set of rules does that.

 

[JimmyPicker]

I think it simply has to do with the costumes.

There are hundreds of people on the street. Dozens of them in the same costumes. Ghosts, witches, cats, firemen, etc.

If someone calls the police because of an incident with a green faced witch, how on earth are the police going to track that person down?

My guess is that they know how bad it could get and want to do whatever they can to avoid it.