Belmar to Ban Hanging Towels on Front Porches?

Wild and ridiculous laws. We certainly don't have a shortage of those in New Jersey, but an ordinance that Belmar is looking to put into effect is one of the dumbest I've ever seen. 

At a town council meeting tonight at 6 p.m. at Belmar Bourough Hall, the town is expected to ban hanging towels, bathing suits or any articles of clothing from front porches, yards or roofs.

Take a second and let that sink in, it may hurt your brain a little.

Here's the actual proposed ordinance from the Borough of Belmar:

The sight of brightly colored beach towels and suits hanging from house to house has become a signature look on Ocean Avenue and throughout Belmar and any beach at the Shore. Just the thought of it makes me think of summer, and in a good way.

I've never been offended by articles of anything hanging from porches or yards in beach communities. Maybe that's why the thought of banning such a thing seems so monumentaly stupid to me.

Why is this an issue? I've been doing some digging and can't really find an answer to that. All I know is that if I wasn't on the air at 6 p.m. tonight, I would be at that meeting asking a lot of questions.

Hat tip to the Belmar Days blog with this story!