Laws, Fact or Fiction

Laws, they're designed to protect and regulate.

They must all go through the same process to be officially "on the books" but it can be argued that not all are created equal.

In fact some may not actually be laws at all.

While many laws have been passed and repealed throughout time, in rare cases some seem to stick around despite being seemingly outdated, or so we thought.

Two of these believed laws particular to the state of Michigan are that "cars may not be sold on a Sunday" and that "Women must have the permission of their husbands to cut their hair."

There is a somewhat gray area surrounding these laws as to where they came from, if they're actual laws or if they ever were.

When it comes to enforcing them, according to Marquette City Police Chief Blake Rieboldt, it's all comes down discretion.

“There are certain situations where discretion is exercised by the officer in dealing with these certain laws. They're on the books for a reason, but as you can tell most of them sometimes are outdated, and are just not applicable in this day and age so to speak."

When it comes to the "hair cut law" the wording alone would suggested it is outdated, but that doesn't mean it isn't something local hairstylist and owner of Salon Salon Alicia Frechette hasn’t heard in recent times.

"I actually have heard of that law before, I don't know when or who told me but I have heard of it."

As bizarre as it may sound a simple google search would yield multiple results claiming this to be an actual current law in the state of Michigan.

For Alicia and Salon Salon however it's not a law she's ever seen put into practice

"We have (had husbands come in) but just wait, just waiting for them they've never given us directions on how to cut the hair."

However, if you’re a husband sitting at home thinking about taking advantage of this law, it may not play out how you'd hope according to Chief Rieboldt.

"Our response to those type of situations you know, it’s a common sense type approach. Obviously in this day and age that law would not be applicable to our enforcement."

For the hair stylists, and wives out there, there may be some good news though as Attorney Daniel Mead says this law may not be as real as google makes it seem.

"I think that is a myth regarding the cutting of the hair, we actually looked that one up, it's one people commonly say, I don't think we were able to find that one."

So, when it comes to needing your husband’s approval to cut your hair, it's a myth.

When it comes to the law regarding selling cars on a Sunday that may be a bit more confusing.

This law is one that seems to be in practice even here locally, it's a slim to none chance of finding a dealership open on a Sunday.

Fox Marquette Sales Manager Eric Malmsten explained that even for those within the industry it's often a point of contention.

"There is a lack of understanding, some of the laws are so complex it's hard for us all to interpret them correctly."

Here's where the confusion comes in.

This is an actual law in Michigan, however, the law states that only counties with a population larger than 130,000 are prohibited from selling cars on a Sunday.

This means all Upper Peninsula counties are in the clear.

So, you may be asking yourself "why aren't dealerships open on Sundays?"

Malmsten points to this, "We enjoy a day off! In other parts of the state and other cities they find a majority of their sales happen on weekends. Up in the U.P. we have a different lifestyle, it seems a majority of our sales are actually during the week. We only run half-staff on Saturday cause in this part of the country everyone enjoys their weekends, they go to camp and other things and aren't necessarily out shopping for cars."

When it comes to this law it isn't a myth, but it does come with an asterisk of sorts for the Upper Peninsula.

While some laws change over time, usually for the better, for Malmsten he doesn’t mind holding onto the ideas of some of the old ones.

"We really hope that this whole Sunday car business stays out of our business, we really enjoy our days off."