Comments on: L.A. Halloween Silly String Ban

By: culo man

culo man — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:45:57 +0000

wow

By: Jodi R. Roy

Jodi R. Roy — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:54:45 +0000

That’s probably defined by State law, so that whichever time is then in effect would govern.

But you already knew that.

By: Annabel Zeoli

Annabel Zeoli — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:31:38 +0000

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By: Robert S

Robert S — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:24:21 +0000

Since we’re getting so nitpickey here, Malvolio’s comment that there is no such time as 12 PM is wrong; it simply means noon. And PM does not stand for post-meridian, but for post-meridiem, which means after the middle of the day, and has nothing to do with meridians.

And I challenge eyesay’s point #5 that says that 12:00 AM is ambiguous and could be taken for the beginning or the end of a given day. Each day has only one 12:00 AM, and it is the first minute of that day. Where is the ambiguity?

By: November 6 roundup

November 6 roundup — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:28:32 +0000

[...] Possession, not just wrongful use: “L.A. Halloween Silly String Ban” [Volokh] [...]

By: SteveW

SteveW — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:45:38 +0000

The definition of “silly string” would include the aerosol version of Cheez Whiz.

By: SJN

SJN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:40:28 +0000

For what it’s worth, the standard-form contract for inflatable
bounce-house rental also requires the adult renter to prevent
all children from bringing silly string into the bounce house.

By: traveler496

traveler496 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:24:08 +0000

I take it back: Next year, there will be Halloween in the Hollywood Division (I had erroneously convinced myself that Hollywood Division has Halloween only five-sevenths of the time rather than six-sevenths). So the next chance to do the (probably ill advised) experiment won’t be until 2015.

By: Seamus

Seamus — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:37:10 +0000

Malvolio: 12 PM?There’s no such time.PM is post meridian, “after noon”.

Well, then, that means that 12 pm is midnight. (And so is 12 am).

By: traveler496

traveler496 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:17:23 +0000

I'd still like to know whether one could escape the fine by correctly pointing out that 2009 had no Halloween in the Hollywood Division. But not quite enough to try the experiment next year (which will also have no Halloween in the Hollywood Division:-)

By: Dotar Sojat

Dotar Sojat — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:08:01 +0000

What about Silly String Theory?

By: ray_g

ray_g — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:44:56 +0000

Seriously, stuff like this is why for years I have turned a deaf ear to any and all requests to vote for initiatives, taxes, bonds, candidates or whatever that want to increase funding for law enforcement. If they have time to worry about this kind of thing, they don’t need any more money.

By: Kevin P.

Kevin P. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:25:20 +0000

krs: This is the same jurisdiction that punishes repeat celebrity DUI with 2–10 hours in jail, more or less on the honor system, no?

And the same jurisdiction that can't be bothered to effectively crack down on taggers who vandalize private property with graffiti, but fines the owners of the said private property if they don't remove the graffiti at their own expense. Link

By: BED

BED — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:07:49 +0000

So, there’s nothing to stop wily teens from spraying silly string all over this sign up until 12:00 on Oct. 31? Why wouldn’t they do that instead? Especially since the 30th was a Friday this year.

By: Some dude

Some dude — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:27:05 +0000

gasman: I’m sort of curious as to why the term person might need to be defined, and just how they define it...

Corporations are not exempt. If you see a corporation walking down the street flinging silly string, they are liable for a fine.

By: Matthew X. Economou

Matthew X. Economou — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:35:50 +0000

Wouldn’t laws against littering be sufficient to stop people from using silly string in public? Would anti-littering laws still be constitutional/reasonable if they included a fine schedule that increases the fine based on the difficulty of cleanup or volume of litter?

By: Sonicfrog

Sonicfrog — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:31:39 +0000

Isn’t Los Angeles running in the red? How much did printing these signs cost????

By: James

James — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:51:52 +0000

Most likely banned b/c of its flammability. (When combined with the lack of knowledge of said “flammability”, + Large numbers of people, + the large numbers of people being drunk)……..

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:31:04 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by gabrielmalor: Oop. Got blogged over at Volokh Conspiracy: http://is.gd/4NqqC...

By: Kirk Parker

Kirk Parker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:23:40 +0000

kimsch,

That’s a feature not a bug.

By: gullyborg

gullyborg — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:49:48 +0000

Suppose I spray Silly String on a burning American Flag?

By: krs

krs — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:40:06 +0000

Malvolio, do you represent tax protestors?

By: Malvolio

Malvolio — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:12:09 +0000

12 PM? There's no such time. PM is post meridian, "after noon".

By: David Nieporent

David Nieporent — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:38:46 +0000

OK, so Silly string is out — But my flaming paper bag of dog poop is fine, right?

If it plays its cards right, it could run for city council.

By: Tweets that mention The Volokh Conspiracy » Blog Archive » L.A. Halloween Silly String Ban -- Topsy.com

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:20:41 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Walter Olson and Joe Brooks, Gabriel Malor. Gabriel Malor said: Oop. Got blogged over at Volokh Conspiracy: http://is.gd/4NqqC [...]

By: ChrisTS

ChrisTS — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:10:49 +0000

Cato The Elder: Isn’t Silly String particularly flammable?

That, plus putative edibility, must mark the differentiation between Silly String and Easy Cheese. Otherwise, I'm at a loss.

By: jccamp

jccamp — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:50:10 +0000

“$1,000.00 FINE”
SILLY ~~STRING~~ THREAD PROHIBITED
12:00 AM OCTOBER 31 to
12:00 NOON NOVEMBER 1st

You’re OK. The statute of limitations has run…

By: Bruce Boyden

Bruce Boyden — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:20:35 +0000

Now that’s what I call narrowly tailored.

By: krs

krs — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:18:10 +0000

This is the same jurisdiction that punishes repeat celebrity DUI with 2-10 hours in jail, more or less on the honor system, no?

By: EH

EH — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:05:19 +0000

it’s tough but fair.

By: StringTheory

StringTheory — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:58:51 +0000

What if I need to detect tripwires?

By: kimsch

kimsch — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:46:12 +0000

1. “Silly String” shall mean any putty-like substance that is shot or expelled in the form of string from an aerosol can or other pressurized device, regardless of whether it is sold under the name “Silly String” or any other name.

Wouldn't Easy Cheese fall under this definition?

By: eyesay

eyesay — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:32:00 +0000

It’s amazing how many editing errors there are on a six-line sign.

1. Space between dollar sign and dollar amount
2. First line is quoted for no reason
3. Quote at end of first line is an open quote instead of close quote
4. No space between 12:00 and AM
5. 12:00 AM is ambiguous as to whether it is at the beginning or the end of October 31; use of 12:01 AM is preferred
6. No space between 12:00 and NOON
7. 12:00 NOON is redundant; NOON suffices
8. NOVEMBER 1ST is an ordinal date; should use a cardinal date both in general and to be consistent with OCTOBER 31
9. Quotes around ILLEGAL serve no purpose and imply that the illegality is figurative or in some way less than normal

By: Apu Nahasapasapeemipetilon

Apu Nahasapasapeemipetilon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:30:37 +0000

I’m mad the Safeway by my house didn’t have 2 for 1 deals on eggs on Halloween like they usually do. I usually make huge omelets on the 1st.

By: Cato The Elder

Cato The Elder — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:28:17 +0000

Isn’t Silly String particularly flammable?