It's not just that this law exists.  It's how funny the law is worded.  Well done Ohio.

For the most part, laws are put in place to protect citizens and their rights.  So, I guess this law was put into place to protect you from marrying an Ohio harlot.  According to Ohio Laws & Administrative Rules Section 3101.06 / Denying license,

No marriage license shall be granted when either of the applicants is under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or controlled substance or is infected with syphilis in a form that is communicable or likely to become communicable.

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You read that correctly.  If you are intoxicated or have this specific sexually transmitted disease, to this day, you can not legally marry in Ohio.  This bit of knowledge leaves me with more questions than answers.

First of all, was this law created in the early 1900's?  It's clearly outdated.  The answer to that is a big, oozing puss filled NO.  In fact, Ohio is celebrating the 40th anniversary of this law that went into effect on April 9th, 1981.

Secondly, why?  What happened involving syphilis that required a law like this?  When I think wide-spread free love, I don't think Ohio.  That gives the word Buckeyes a whole new meaning.

And finally, how does the state know if someone applying for a marriage license has syphilis?  Are they tested?

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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