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Health & Fitness

This Haddon Township Law is Raising Serious Questions

You have likely already heard of many ridiculous laws on the books in small towns in various states. Some are holdovers of antiquated blue laws brought about by once pervasive Christian values. Some are holdovers of the prohibition era. Others are not easily interpreted, or simply inexplicable. Still others could be classified as "all of the above".

The law currently raising serious questions in Haddon Township is found in the Haddon Township Code Ordinances § 175-1. The law reads:

Whoever accosts or approaches any person of the opposite sex unknown to such person and by word, sign or gesture attempts to speak to or to become acquainted with such person against his will, on a public street or other public place in the Township, except in the transaction of legitimate business, or whoever attempts to entice or procure a person of the opposite sex to commit an unlawful act, or whoever accosts or approaches any person and by word, sign or gesture suggests or invites the doing of any indecent or unnatural act, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in this chapter. (Haddon Township Code Ordinances, § 175-12)
While officially characterized as a law against "Offending or Annoying Persons in Public Places" other publications, of obviously lesser quality than the Haddon Patch, have interpreted this law to essentially be a ban on flirting - primarily of the "Yo Girl" and "Hey Boy" variety.

Let's examine three primary questions this law raises:

1. "Against their Will" 

How is one to know if a word or gesture is spoken or enacted against the will of another until it is attempted? Should you ever find yourself strolling around Haddon Township, choose your polite "hello's", head nods, and waves carefully, lest you violate the laws of this beloved small town - a shining beacon of libations amongst its dry and prohibitionist neighbors.

2. "The Opposite Sex"

As a law against offending or annoying persons in public places, the law is insufficient as it only governs offense or annoyance between parties of the opposite sex. This is a good thing if you are looking to become aquainted with members of the same sex. Flirty freely! This is a bad thing if you are seeking protection from unsolicited contact or gestures from persons of the same sex - Haddon Township does not offer equal protection under the law. I'd be willing to go as far as calling this law discriminatory.

3. "Legitimate Business"

If I worked at, say, Wawa and thanked my customer of the opposite sex for purchasing coffee and a turkey sandwich, could I then engage in further acquaintance of said person of the opposite sex against their will due to the preface of legitimate business?

Also, if this law was contrived to discourage cat-calls from construction workers the Haddon Township government could have said so and saved me a bit of time and effort writing this...
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