Marion Barry Quotes

Some of the finest quotes from the Honorable Marion Barry:

• "The contagious people of Washington have stood firm against diversity during this long period of increment weather."
• "I promise you a police car on every sidewalk."
• "If you take out the killings, Washington actually has a very very low crime rate."
• "First, it was not a strip bar, it was an erotic club. And second, what can I say? I'm a night owl."
• "I am clearly more popular than Reagan. I am in my third term. Where's Reagan? Gone after two! Defeated by George Bush and Michael Dukakis no less."
• "The laws in this city are clearly racist. All laws are racist. The law of gravity is racist."
• "I am making this trip to Africa because Washington is an international city, just like Tokyo, Nigeria, or Israel. As mayor, I am an international symbol. Can you deny that to Africa?"
• "People have criticized me because my security detail is larger than the president's. But you must ask yourself: are there more people who want to kill me than who want to kill the president? I can assure you there are."
• "The brave men who died in Vietnam, more than 100% of which were black, were the ultimate sacrifice."
• "I read a funny story about how the Republicans freed the slaves. The Republicans are the ones who created slavery by law in the 1600's. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and he was not a Republican."
• "What right does Congress have to go around making laws just because they deem it necessary?"
• "People blame me because these water mains break, but I ask you, if the water mains didn't break, would it be my responsibility to fix them then? WOULD IT!?!"
• "I am a great mayor; I am an upstanding Christian man; I am an intelligent man; I am a deeply educated man; I am a humble man."

Oregon Crazy Law

• Canned corn is not to be used as bait for fishing.
• Ice cream may not be eaten on Sundays.
• Looking for more dumb laws?
• Dishes must drip dry.
• It is illegal to buy or sell marijuana, but it is legal to smoke it on your own property.
• You may not pump your own gas in service stations.
• The "Peer Review Statute" prohibits you from finding out details of any written or oral discussion about your medical treatment. Not even a court of law can. All you can access is what the doctor or nurse voluntarily records in your chart.
• One may not bathe without wearing "suitable clothing," i.e.,that which covers one's body from neck to knee.
• Beaverton- You must buy a $10 permit to be allowed to install a burglar alarm.
• Eugene- It is legal to conduct a horse race or a symphony concert.
• It is illegal to show movies or attend a car race on Sundays.
• (Repealed in the 1970s) Hood River Juggling is strictly prohibited without a license.
• Klamath Falls- It's illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snakes head off with your cane.
• Portland- People may not whistle underwater.
• It's against the law for a wedding ceremony to be performed at a skating rink.
• (Repealed in 1989) You cannot wear roller skates in restrooms.
• Marion- Ministers are forbidden from eating garlic or onions before delivering a sermon.
• Myrtle Creek- One may not box with a kangaroo.
• Salem- Women may not wrestle in Salem.
• Springfield- It is illegal to own a reptile within the city limits, unless you are a school or city, as a pet.
• Stanfield- No more than two people may share a single drink.
• Cloth towel dispensers are banned from restrooms.

Indiana Crazy Laws

• One man may not back into a parking spot because it prevents police officers from seeing the license plate.
• Baths may not be taken between the months of October and March.
• All males 18 to 50 years old must work six days a year on public roads.
• Mustaches are illegal if the bearer has a tendency to habitually kiss other humans.
• Hotel sheets must be exactly 99 inches long and 81 inches wide.
• State government officials who engage in private duels can be dismissed from their post.
• Drinking from your own bottle in a bar can lead to your arrest.
• A man over the age of 18 may be arrested for statutory rape if the passenger in his car is not wearing her socks and shoes, and is under the age of 17.
• It is illegal to sell cars on Sunday. Drinks on the house are illegal.
• It is illegal for a liquor store to sell cold soft drinks.
• A person who dyes, stains, or otherwise alters the natural coloring of a bird or rabbit commits a Class B misdemeanor. (Ind. Code 15-2.1-21-13(b)
• Smoking in the state legislature building is banned, except when the legislature is in session.
• Liquor stores may not sell milk.
• Check forgery can be punished with public flogging up to 100 stripes.
• Grocery stores may not sell any type of cold liquor.
• You can get out of paying for a dependent's medical care by praying for him/her.
• Pedestrians crossing the highway at night are prohibited from wearing tail lights.
• No one may catch a fish with his bare hands.
• Men are prohibited from standing in a bar.
• You are not allowed to carry a cocktail from the bar to a table. The waiter or waitress has to do it.
• "Spiteful Gossip" and "talking behind a person's back" are illegal.
• You are required to pour your drink into a glass.
• It is against the law to pass a horse on the street.
• If any person has a puppet show, wire dancing or tumbling act in the state of Indiana and receives money for it, they will be fined $3 under the Act to Prevent Immoral Practices.
• Anyone 14 or older who profanely curses, damns or swears by the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, shall be fined one to three dollars for each offense, with a maximum fine of ten dollars per day.
• A three dollar fine per pack will be imposed on anyone playing cards in Indiana under the Act for the Prevention of Gaming.
• The value of Pi is 4, and not 3.1415.
• (Repealed) Auburn - It is illegal to bike, roller-skate, skateboard, or inline skate in a commercially zoned area. For these offenses, there is a fine of no more than $5 or the impounding of one's bicycle for a period not to exceed 30 days.
• Beech Grove - It is forbidden to eat watermelon in the park.
• Elkhart - It is illegal for barbers to threaten to cut off kid's ears.
• Evansville - While driving on Main Street you may not have your lights on.
• Fort Wayne - You may not sell or play on a radio broadcast, the record "It`s In the Book".
• Gary - Within four hours of eating garlic, a person may not enter a movie house, theater, or ride a public streetcar.
• South Bend - It is illegal to make a monkey smoke a cigarette.
• Terre Haute - No one may spit on the sidewalk.