10 Pieces Of Crazy Legislation Introduced By The States In 2013

Some of our great states have introduced some pretty crazy legislation so far in 2013. This is just a sampling of what some of them have been up to.

1. North Carolina mandating that abortion be taught as a "risk factor" for future preterm births and miscarriages.

There has been a lot going on in my home state of North Carolina. Between trying to pass a state religion, to requiring recipients of SNAP and TANF to undergo drug testing, to ending the Racial Justice Act, there has been a lot of really bad things passed.

The latest, however, epically turns its nose up at science and blatantly lies to young people.

This bill, which is awaiting Gov. McCrory's signature, would make it a requirement to teach seventh graders that having an abortion increases your risk for miscarriages and preterm births. Something which has no basis in science.

2. Texas banning abortion after 20 weeks.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you've know doubt heard about Sen. Wendy Davis and her inspiring filibuster over this legislation which would close all but five of the state's abortion clinics, making it a near impossibility for a woman to have access to a safe abortion. This legislation would also ban all abortions after 20 weeks.

While the filibuster was a success in blocking the legislation from passing, Gov. Perry has called for a special session on July 1st and it is unknown whether a similar feat may be recreated.

3. Arizona jailing transgender people for using the "wrong" bathroom.

A bill introduced in March would make it illegal for a person to use the restroom of the gender opposite of the gender on a person's birth certificate. Violation of this would be a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $4,000 and up to six months in prison.

While this legislation has stalled, the state representative who introduced it isn't giving up, and hopes to have it taken up again in 2014.

4. North Dakota banning abortions after six weeks.

North Dakota has implemented some pretty harsh restrictions on abortions, some of which are now being challenged. The one that takes the cake, is the bill that would ban all abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is usually around six weeks. This would make it the most restrictive abortion law in the country, surpassing Arkansas' bill banning abortion after 12 weeks (though a federal judge has granted an injunction on this ban for the time being).

It is absolutely worth noting that at six weeks many women are still unaware they are pregnant, making this in essence an outright ban on abortion.

5. New Hampshire alleging the original 13th amendment was deleted from the Constitution.

This one is just downright bizarre, but probably shouldn't surprise us since it's coming out of New Hampshire. Basically several people in New Hampshire believe the original 13th amendment prohibited people with "titles of nobility" from holding office before being deleted. They believe this "actual" 13th amendment was deleted from the Constitution after pressure from the bar association so lawyers could end up holding office.

This bill obviously doesn't have the huge implications as many of the other ones on here, but just shows how easy it is to get some bat shit crazy bill before governing bodies in some states.

6. Iowa trying to make it harder to divorce because that leads to more "promiscuous" girls.

This bill (which failed) would have required married couples with children to prove that their spouse committed a crime, abandoned their family, or committed adultery before obtaining a divorce.

State Representative Ted Gassman, the man who introduced this legislation, said his rationale for this asinine legislation was because his daughter and son-in-law recently divorced and he worried that his 16-year-old granddaughter would become more promiscuous as a result.

7. Kansas introducing a bill allowing people who have HIV/AIDS to be quarantined by the state.

This bill is a convoluted mess, and was initially worded to take away the need for a court order to collect a sample of a person's blood to test in the event a first responded was exposed to it. This eventually turned into allowing the state to quarantine those with a communicable disease, which has worried those with HIV/AIDS as a way to target them.

One of the reasons this has people worried is because it would actually invalidate a 1988 Kansas law that did make it illegal to quarantine someone who has been diagnosed with AIDS.

8. Kentucky expanding protections to those who claim they have "sincerely held religious beliefs."

This one could be a doozy and though it was vetoed by Gov. Steve Beshear, his veto, however was overridden.

This law could have many "unintended consequences", as Beshear noted. It potentially opens the door to legalized discrimination, particularly against the LGBT community, based on "religious freedom." This could especially be a problem as there are only a few cities in Kentucky that have local ordinances protecting the LGBT community from discrimination and there are no such protections statewide.

9. A Missouri lawmaker wanting to make it a felony to introduce a bill about gun control.

I guess to his credit Missouri State Representative Mike Leara was smart enough to know his bill had no chance of passing, but he still introduced it, so it counts.

Leara loves the second amendment so much he wanted to make it a class D felony to propose any legislation that would restrict one's right to bear arms.

So if this had passed, a legislator in Missouri who introduced a bill for expanded background checks or a ban of assault rifles would have been charged with a felony.

Let that marinate.

10. South Carolina wanting to bring back chain gangs.

The Sheriff of Spartanburg, Chuck Wright, along with State Representative Bill Chumley have worked together on a bill that would reinstate chain gangs to South Carolina.

This would enlist nonviolent offenders in a work program fixing highways or some other such task for 12 hours a day six days a week.

Wright said this would not give them time to "sit around and think about how to be stupid anymore."

You'd think a state with such a delicate history with race would think twice before passing something that could be equated to slave labor.

As I said earlier this is only a sampling, and my home state could definitely warrant its own list. So, if I missed some other crazy legislation from your state add it below!