Many laws which have been passed in the various states of the United States over the years since their entrance into the Union are now out of date or seem just plain ludicrous.  For example, the laws in one state make it illegal for women to expose their ankles for men to go without their guns. Obviously, these laws are broken daily.  With current trends in fashion, every woman who walks down the street or goes to the beach of public swimming pool is committing a crime.  While it was once considered of utmost importance that a man be armed and ready for action on the frontier, it is hardly necessary for a man to tote his guns to work today.  However, a man without a gun is also technically breaking the law.  On the other hand, another law makes it illegal to tether one´s horse to the fence surrounding the capitol building.  It is hard to imagine anyone riding a horse into the city and leaving it tied outside of the capitol building today.  One would have to go to great lengths in order to break this law.

These outdated laws remain on the record because the time needed for state legislatures to debate the issues and make changes in the existing laws would keep the members from attending to more important current and relevant issues.  It would be hard to calculate the cost to the taxpayers for these laws to be purged or updated.  Consequently, it is likely that these laws will remain on the books.

13. The word “ludicrous” is closest in meaning to