OHIO Ordinances prove to be silly as a 'Goose Law'

Run out of gas in downtown Youngstown and you're breaking the law.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
McDONALD -- Want to take your mule, swine or goose for a stroll? Then make sure they're on a leash -- at least in McDonald.
Even before village leaders established a police department for the village in 1914, they made it illegal to let any farm animal, pet or fowl to run at large on the main streets.
Known these days as the "Goose Law," that first ordinance still sits on the books, making it a crime to let creatures run hog wild.
"It's been modified some to become our animals-at-large ordinance, but it's still there," explains Char McCracken, clerk of council.
"Somewhere along the way, some reporter latched on to the goose part and ran with it, so it's known as the Goose Law."
Made the rounds
McCracken, who keeps copies of all village ordinances in her offices at the administration building on Ohio Avenue, said the law's been written up in publications throughout the country, including Reader's Digest.
Today, you can type the phrase "McDonald Goose Law" into an Internet search engine and come up with several hits of Web sites referencing the ordinance.
Most listings simply say it's illegal to parade your goose down the main streets.
But McDonald's seemingly silly ban on wandering wildlife isn't the only Ohio law to make it to such Web sites.
Many old Ohio laws -- some of which are no longer applicable -- are still listed, including state laws prohibiting fishing for whales on Sundays, banning women from wearing patent leather shoes in public and making it illegal to get a fish drunk.
State laws aren't the only ones listed, however.
Two Youngstown laws make an appearance here and there on Web sites and in magazine articles dedicated to dumb laws.
One says it's illegal to ride on top of a taxi, while the other makes it against the law to run out of gas.
Urban legends?
The problem, though, is that for the most part, they're not true.
"The one about the taxi cab has become a bit of an urban legend," said John A. McNally IV, Youngstown's law director. "There is no ordinance that specifically prohibits riding on top of a taxi."
McNally said there is a law that makes it illegal for someone to drive any vehicle with another person on top or hanging on to the side.
"We've notified at least one of those Web sites asking them to take it off because it's not true," he said.
As for running out of gas -- well, that one is true.
"Ordinance 331.44 says 'sufficient fuel is required in a congested district,'" McNally said.
The law says anyone driving in the downtown area bounded by Chestnut, Walnut, Boardman and Commerce streets must make sure they have enough gas in the car to make it out of that district.
"At some point, when downtown had a lot of cars all the time and a lot of traffic, they made it a law to keep the congestion down, I guess," McNally said.
It's a minor misdemeanor, and one not traditionally prosecuted by the city, but it still carries a fine of up to $100.
And if you do decide to let your goose go marauding through McDonald?
When council first passed the law, it was punishable by a fine of "not less than One Dollar and not more than Ten Dollars."
The fine's a bit stiffer these days.
slshaulis@vindy.com