These Weird Texas Laws Have Me Asking What’s Up With That?

Texas is known for doing things big. Big trucks, big steaks, big hats and, every now and then, some mighty strange rules.

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A recent conversation got me thinking about some of the unusual Texas laws and legal legends I’ve heard over the years. Some are legitimate. Others have been repeated for so many decades that Texans simply assume they must be true.

Either way, a few of these have me asking the same question: What's up with that?

5. Shooting Buffalo From a Hotel Is Not a Texas Law

Here's another one I've heard most of my life: It's supposedly illegal in Texas to shoot a buffalo from the second floor of a hotel.

There's only one problem.

Researchers have found no evidence that such a Texas law ever existed.

Of course, firing a weapon from a hotel balcony could get you into plenty of trouble for several very real reasons.

But apparently, Texas lawmakers never had to specifically tell us, "Don't shoot the buffalo from Room 212."

4. Those Infamous Wire Cutters

For years, Texans have repeated the story that carrying wire cutters in your pocket in Austin is illegal.

The story supposedly dates back to the old fence-cutting wars when ranchers fought over barbed wire and open ranges.

It's a great Texas story, but I could not verify a current Austin ordinance that makes simply carrying wire cutters illegal.

So I'm officially moving this one from "crazy law" to "crazy Texas legal legend."

3. Eating Your Neighbor's Garbage Can Get Complicated

You've probably heard the claim that it's illegal in Texas to eat your neighbor's garbage.

There isn't a statewide Texas law specifically saying, "Thou shalt not eat thy neighbor's trash."

However, rummaging through someone else's garbage can potentially create problems involving trespassing, theft or local dumpster-diving ordinances.

Personally, I'm going to let the raccoons have this one.

2. Please Hold It Until the Elevator Stops

This may be my favorite.

Port Arthur has long been cited for an ordinance prohibiting the release of obnoxious odors inside an elevator.

You know exactly where my mind went.

Apparently, what happens after Mexican food doesn't necessarily stay at the Mexican food restaurant.

If this one is enforced the way people describe it, I may be taking the stairs.

1. Paying That Texas Ticket Means Something

This one isn't funny to me.

If you receive certain traffic or municipal citations in Texas and simply decide to pay the fine rather than fight it, understand what you're doing.

For example, Austin Municipal Court requires someone paying fines and costs to first enter a plea of guilty or no contest. A no-contest plea means you aren't admitting guilt, but you also aren't challenging the violation.

So before automatically clicking "pay," know what you're agreeing to.

Some Texas Laws Are Strange, Others Are Just Great Stories

That's what I love about researching these things.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Other times, something gets repeated for 50 or 100 years until everybody accepts it as fact.

And there's another lesson here: when it comes to tickets, ordinances, or anything else involving the law, don't rely on something somebody told you years ago.

Look it up.

Because in Texas, sometimes the answer will leave you saying exactly what I did:

"What's up with that?"

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