Most kids naturally age out of trick-or-treating by the time they are teens, but there are some that like to continue the tradition.
While many people are happy to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters of all ages, one city made nation-wide news for its ban on teenage trick-or-treaters.
RELATED STORIES
Everyone knows that the best part of Halloween is trick-or-treating.
Two words: Free Candy. Could it get any better than that?
But when it comes to how old trick-or-treaters should be, people are divided.
There are some people who think there should be an age limit when it comes to trick-or-treating and that teens shouldn’t be getting free candy.
However, there are others who say that as long as teens are in costume, what’s the problem?
Some say it’s better to encourage teens to keep trick-or-treating since it’s harmless fun.
One city has gone viral over its strict trick-or-treating policies.
Chesapeake, Virgina’s city by-laws went viral in 2018 when someone shared them on the Facebook page Stolen Political Memes.
According to the by-law, trick-or-treating can only take place between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
As well, trick-or-treaters had to be under the age of 12 to participate or they faced potential fines or even jail time.
Once the post went viral, many people commented wondering how the city planned on enforcing the law.
Others said that the punishments seemed overly harsh for teenagers trying to have fun on Halloween.
Due to public backlash, Chesapeake updated their laws in 2019.
They raised the tick-or-treat age to 14-years-old and removed jail time as a consequence, but older teens could still face charges.
“If any person over the age of 14 years shall engage in the activity commonly known as ‘trick or treat’ or any other activity of similar character or nature under any name whatsoever, he or she shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor,” according to the city’s Code of Ordinances.
The city also clarified that they will not be actively seeking out trick-or-treaters to verify their age, but will rather be focused on individuals causing trouble.
“… a 15 year old safely trick or treating with a younger sibling is not going to have any issues. That same child taking pumpkins from porches and smashing them in the street more likely will,” the city said on its website.
Even though the laws have been updated, many people in Chesapeake still plan on giving candy to all trick-or-treaters, no matter how old they are.
Law or no law, it seems that most people just want to eat candy and have fun. What do you think about these laws?
