Is It Illegal? 16 Things You Think Are Illegal But Actually Aren’t 

Ever been in the middle of committing a crime and asked yourself, “is it illegal what I’m doing?” If it’s murder, assault, arson, or robbery, then you likely know you’re breaking the law. However, there are misconceptions when it comes to the law. As evident by the millions of videos online, most people don’t understand the rules they’re breaking. People often just assume numerous actions and activities are illegal. Well, you might not be breaking the law after all. So, the question becomes, is it legal?

Is it legal to drive naked or record a conversation? How about removing the mattress tag or owning an exotic pet? At the same time, what might be illegal in one country is perfectly fine in another. In the United States, laws vary depending on the state. One state might ban something like marrying your first cousin, but another has no problem with it. Understanding laws before breaking them is vital because you might not be doing anything illegal in the first place. Let’s dive deep into some common laws and determine if you’re breaking the rules. 

1. Recording a Conversation 

Secretly recording a conversation feels like an illegal crime, especially if private or confidential information is involved. However, in America, most places are one-party consent states. Therefore, recording a conversation without the other person’s knowledge is perfectly legal.

The only states where recording a conversation is illegal are Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Hampshire, Washington, Montana, Pennsylvania, and California. So, if you’re in one of those states, you’re out of luck, but in places like New York, recording a conversation isn’t illegal.

2. Removing the Mattress Tag

Most people assume removing the mattress tag after buying a new bed will result in the FBI knocking on your door. Next thing you know, you’re doing a hard time in Folsom Prison. As it turns out, removing the mattress tag after a purchase isn’t illegal at all.

Removing the tag before buying the mattress is against the law and could result in a fine. However, once the bed is purchased, you can do whatever you want to it or on it. 

3. Driving Naked

Honestly, everyone forgets to put on clothes before getting behind the wheel at least once in life. Perhaps they’re running late, live in a nudist colony, or their lover’s spouse came home. The fact is, whether it’s a quick getaway or going for a cruise, driving naked isn’t illegal.

Driving naked is purely a personal choice. However, public nudity is illegal in most places, making getting in and out of your car quite the mission. If someone spots your naked derriere, the police could charge you with public lewdness. Or you could cause a car accident that would create even more trouble. 

4. Escaping Prison in Europe 

In America and Canada, escaping prison is illegal and adds additional years to a sentence. In some European countries, escaping prison isn’t unlawful. Walking out of a prison cell in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, and Germany isn’t a crime. Furthermore, many Scandinavian countries have an open prison system with no tiny cells or bars.

Instead, their cells resemble a college dorm more than an American jail cell. Based on the honor system, they can even visit their family at home. On the other hand, Belgium’s and Germany’s prisons are more like America’s. Still, escaping isn’t a crime unless further crimes occur during the escape, such as property damage or assault. 

5. Private Business Have the Right To Refuse Customers

Due to the rise of Covid cases, many private businesses require customers to wear masks while in the building. Suddenly, videos began appearing online of people furious that they couldn’t enter a supermarket, store, or restaurant without a mask. Many of them tried claiming that it’s illegal for a business to prevent a customer from entering without a face covering.

After causing a scene, they find out the hard way that it’s not illegal. Federal laws state businesses cannot discriminate against someone based on their national origin, race, sex, disability, citizenship status, or religious beliefs. However, they have every right to refuse a customer entry for health and safety concerns, including not wearing a mask, shirt, or shoes.

6. Owning a Pet Monkey

There isn’t a person in the world who wouldn’t want a pet monkey. It might be a surprise, but 38 states allow people to keep monkeys as pets. Oregon even allows monkeys to act as service animals.

Several states have made pet monkeys illegal though, such as Alaska, Utah, Minnesota, Missouri, Maine, Ohio, Georgia, New Mexico, Maryland, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. Unfortunately, if you live in those states, you must stick to the more traditional pets. 

7. Underage Drinking 

In America, underage drinking is illegal in all 50 states. Well, there are several ways to get around that law. Many states have loopholes allowing underage drinking, except New Hampshire, Idaho, Alabama, West Virginia, and Arkansas. 29 of the 50 states permit underage drinking legally on private property with parental consent and supervision.

25 states allow underage drinking for religious purposes, while minors can drink in 16 states for medical reasons. Furthermore, six states allow minors to drink without parental consent or supervision on private property. 

8. Going Topless

For years, it was perfectly legal for men to walk around topless, but most states prevent women from doing the same. At one point, two women, Samantha Six and Brit Hoagland, successfully sued Ft. Collins, Colorado, for banning women from going topless in public.

Furthermore, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Utah laws, allowing women to go topless publicly in those states.

9. Marrying Your Cousin

Nowadays, cousins marrying might seem odd. In fact, a lot of people assume it’s illegal. However, marrying your cousin isn’t unlawful and has been around for centuries. Several of history’s most famous figures, including Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Edgar Allen Poe, married their cousins.

While most states allow cousins to marry, the laws vary on which cousin. For instance, some states permit a person to marry their first cousin, the child of their uncle or aunt. On the other hand, West Virginia only allows first cousins to marry if one of them is adopted. In Arizona, cousins can only marry if they are over 65 years old. 

10. Performing Surgery Without a Good Night’s Sleep 

Going in for surgery is scary under normal circumstances. Patients put their trust in doctors and hope they’re not impaired. While performing surgery intoxicated is illegal, not having enough sleep isn’t. Doctors work notoriously long hours and miss out on a lot of sleep.

Lack of sleep often leads to sleep deprivation, affecting a person’s mental state and motor skills. Regardless, the law doesn’t require surgeons to have a full eight hours of sleep before performing surgery. 

11. Baby Walkers

Baby walkers cause a great deal of debate about their benefits and dangers. Baby walkers allow the child to stand upright and walk as their little feet act as pedals. But they enable babies to go to dangerous places that could lead to fatal accidents. Also, medical evidence suggests baby walkers prevent babies from learning and developing specific muscles that help with crawling, standing upright, and walking.

Despite all this, baby walkers are legal throughout America in every state. Cross the border to America’s neighbor in the North, Canada, and baby walkers are banned across the country. 

12. Driving Drowsy

Several traffic violations and laws fall under the careless driving or reckless driving charge. While driving impaired is against the law, driving drowsy is legal, despite exhausted drivers causing a good portion of accidents on the road. With the exceptions of Arkansas and New Jersey, driving while sleepy isn’t breaking any laws in most of America. 

13. Sleeping in Your Car

While drowsy driving isn’t illegal, it’s dangerous for the driver, passengers, and others on the road. The best idea is to pull over, rest, and hit the open road after a few hours. Of course, some people think sleeping in your car is illegal. It’s actually legal in 14 states to pull over to a rest stop and sleep in your vehicle.

Technically, it isn’t unlawful to nap in your car, but you might be breaking other laws. For instance, parking illegally and getting some shut-eye will likely end in a ticket. 

14. Burying Loved Ones in the Backyard

Each culture has different customs and traditions when it comes to funerals. It’s natural to assume there are laws regarding burying bodies. However, there’s no law preventing the burial of a loved one in the backyard.

While there are cemeteries all over the world, some people prefer having loved ones closer. Specific zoning laws require burials to be far from a body of water, which is understandable. 

15. Owning Exotic Animals 

While it’s common for people to own a dog, cat, bird, or turtle, most assume exotic animals are against the law. Certain states in America allow people to own their dream pets.

For instance, Oklahoma allows residents to own a cheetah or a lion. Massachusetts enables individuals to own a bear. Furthermore, Florida allows locals to keep a giraffe as a pet. It’s also okay to have a pet tiger with a valid license in Delaware. 

16. Paddling in School 

At one point in history, spanking or paddling from a teacher was commonplace. They often used it as a way to punish kids that were misbehaving. Nowadays, it’s less common, but not because of laws preventing it.

Several states permit corporal punishment in school, including Texas, Mississippi, Colorado, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Arizona, Wyoming, Louisiana, Georgia, Oklahoma, Idaho, Kansas, Florida, Missouri, and Arkansas. New Jersey is the best state for kids as they banned corporal punishment in schools in 1867.