It would not be Halloween without families dressing up and going door-to-door with their bags full of candy. To legally outlaw an entire generation is wrong, and it strips trick-or-treaters of traditions and holiday fun.
Trick-or-treating is a tradition going all the way back to ancient Celtic tribes, according to the Smithsonian, and has been an essential part of American culture for the past 100 years. However, towns in Virginia now exclude anyone over the age of 12 from participating in the fun under threat of the law.
Beginning in 2015, towns in Virginia — including Virginia Beach, Hampton, Chesapeake and others, according to local Channel 3 News — began to charge any participating trick-or-treaters over the age of 12 with a class 4 misdemeanor.
That’s right, if a 13-year-old wants to dress up and visit neighbors for candy on Halloween night, they will be swiftly disciplined. The punishment is not just a slap on the wrist, either. The misdemeanor charge, according to Chesapeake’s municipal code of ordinance, threatens a minimum sentence of six months in jail and/or a fine ranging from $25 to $100 … for trick-or-treating.
The true crime here is a government inappropriately stepping in on a cultural holiday and impeding on its citizens’ personal rights.
“The individuals answering the door can turn away the teens and that’s their right,” junior communications major Mikayla Logan said. “But if the government is allowed to ban teens from trick-or-treating, it opens the door for imposing on other individual rights associated with freedom of expression.”
It is not the job of the government to decide when a child is too old to go trick-or-treating. It should be at the family’s own discretion to decide when a teenager is too old for the tradition, especially since maturity and development are different for every child.
Teenagers are already influenced to grow up faster than they need to and to make it a crime for them to participate in a golden hour of childhood is robbing them of the opportunity to be a kid. Individuals have the freedom to choose when the line is drawn, not our governing officials.
Charging teens with a misdemeanor and pulling them out of school in favor of six months in jail is a sure way to promote a cycle of crime in the justice system. Especially for something as innocent as trick-or-treating, this is a quick way to strengthen the divide between police and community.
Thankfully, trick-or-treating is not outlawed for teens in Atlanta, but other teens are still treated unfairly with a misdemeanor. For towns in Virginia, the law is a violation of personal rights and robs teens of enjoying a treasured holiday.
