This Law Is for the Birds … or Should I Say Pigs?
While doing some research for one of my many bosses, David Stokes, I ran into a number of city ordinances that left me shaking my head. Now, don’t get me wrong, St. Louis is a great city, but some of these ordinances led to laughter in the office. For example, did you know that in the city of St. Louis you are only permitted one pot-bellied-pig per household? Sure, you may not think this is a bad ordinance, but I’m worried about my personal freedom, ladies and gentlemen. What about those people who have a collection of their favorite lawn gnomes? Are they just supposed to forget about them? If you start taking away people’s Vietmanese pot-bellied-pigs, you are going down a slippery slope of government regulation, my friend.
In the same city ordinance, it proclaims that individuals are not allowed to raise or keep rabbits, because it is deemed a public nuisance. That’s right, owning a rabbit in the privacy of your own home is somehow infringing on your neighbors. So, who is going tell this guy that his furry little friend is a "public nuisance" at the next town hall meeting? And, probably most importantly, who is going to uninvite the Easter Bunny to the next family function? Although these ordinances are ridiculous and easy to poke fun at, they are also a perfect example of government over-regulation. It is not the role of the government to rule every aspect of our lives. I think George Will summarized the role of the ideal government best when he said the government should "deliver the mail, defend the shores, and get out of the way":
