What most teens don’t know could be costly. There is a city ordinance in Lawrence that states all minors are supposed be off the streets of Lawrence by a certain time. It’s pretty generous, but minors still are being caught for violating city ordinance No. 14-801. On weekdays, the curfew is in effect between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the curfew is extended until 12:30 a.m.

I personally think the curfew is a little pushy because parents should set a curfew for their children, not the city government. Whether it’s 10 p.m. or no curfew at all, I believe that right belongs to parents. I think the city curfew is just a way to get teens in trouble. Not every teen is going to wreak havoc and break any odd law after 12:30 a.m. And for that matter, if a teen wanted to do wrong, who says it’s going to be between 12:30 a.m. and 6 a.m.? What stops it from happening at 4:14 p.m.?

Violators of this curfew can be punished with a fine between $10 and $100, and/or jail time not to exceed 30 days. Seems kind of steep to me. A fine or even short-term incarceration for being out late at night? Not only can the minor in question get in trouble, but parents can, too. Parents can receive the same punishment as their child, or even worse.

Breaking this law is a harmless offense, similar to committing a crime such as jaywalking, a rarely upheld law. The only difference in these laws is that the punishment for curfew infringement can be extensively worse. Information on many of these “harmless” laws as well as others can be found at www.lawrencecourt.org.

Most teens in Lawrence have no clue about the curfew. Surprisingly, most parents have no idea either, and it really doesn’t affect their decision any when setting curfews for their teenage children. So next time you and your friends think about just hanging out on the streets after 12:30 a.m., remember that this basically unnecessary law is there to keep you from breaking any minuscule law out there.