Nixing Droopy Drawers

By Jeremy Caplan

Legislators have often gone overboard in trying to curb citizens' behavior, but reality eventually sets in. Now, even as some state legislatures repeal their centuries-old bans on Sunday liquor sales, other lawmakers are trying novel ways of cracking down on leisurely lewdness and lollygagging. Here are some of the latest no-nos legislators have been drafting. --By Jeremy Caplan

PANTS PATROL In Virginia, wearers of low-riding pants that expose their underwear were facing a $50 fine for "lewd or indecent manner" in a proposal that got booted last week by the state senate

AXING ALCOHOL Alabama is banning its own state whiskey. Conecuh Ridge had been Alabama's "official state spirit," but last week its liquor license was revoked after its founder was charged with illegal sales to a minor

STOP THAT BIKE Idaho's lawmakers are seeing red. Last week they debated ways to bust bikers who pedal through red lights. But the problem, according to riders, is that some lights change only for cars

LEAVE SPOT ALONE Are extreme makeovers a form of animal cruelty? The mayor of West Hollywood, Calif., wants to ban tail docking, ear cropping and all other "noncurative" cosmetic pet surgeries

SAND AND SMOKE You can surf, but please don't smoke. That's the gist of a new bill to ban cigarettes at Hawaii's beaches and parks. If it passes, the state would be the first to take smoking bans outdoors