Are you kidding me?

That’s kind of what I was thinking as I went out with photographer Glen Welling to shoot our latest “Are You Kidding Me?” segment- the second in a series of stories on strange laws in Indiana. And indeed it was a very strange day for us as well. You can read the report and see the video here.

For instance, did you know it’s illegal in Indy to throw a stone at a bird? Unless it’s in self-defense. It’s really on the books. Now certainly, you should never hurt animals, and I never would. What’s funny to some people is that this very specific action is spelled out by law. Here’s another one- there’s also a city law that sets a speed limit- on horses. Ten miles an hour.

So you can imagine the difficulty Glen and I faced in trying to illustrate this story photographically. And the hardest part was trying to find a bird to videotape. Seriously. There were no birds. Anywhere.

Finally, we did come across some Canada geese by the White River. So were rushed out of the car to videotape them, and wouldn’t you know, rushing toward them with a camera, they flew away. We’re getting paid for this?

Glen and I covered the Super Bowl together in Miami when the Colts won it all. We’ve covered presidential campaigns. And on this day we were out looking for birds. It’s funny how this business works! (Thankfully, we did find a bird later that morning, and no- we didn’t throw anything!)

This morning on GMI, we interviewed Mayor Ballard (rhymes with Mallard) about the strange laws on the books. He got a good chuckle out of it too, and said it can actually be difficult to repeal old laws because in many instances, city councillors don’t even know the laws are in place. And that’s the goal of our “Are You Kidding Me?” segments- to highlight unusual or bizarre circumstances like these, or unfair situations that literally leave people saying, “Are you kidding me?”

We’ll delve into more serious topics in the coming days and weeks, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoyed a light-hearted look at some of the more bizarre laws in our area. I know Glen and I enjoyed our day “birdwatching” – at least it was a nice day outside!