Mississippi College Law Review
Publication Date
Spring 2024
Abstract
In a poll conducted by Vox and Morning Consult, forty-two percent of Amreicans admitted to fearing clowns. That's a higher percentage than those who fear a terrorist attack (forty-one percent), a family member dying (thirty-eight percent), or an economic collapse (thirty-seven percent). Further, this is significantly more than those with "classic" fears such as heights (twenty-four percent), needles (seventeen percent), or ghosts (nine percent). The survey also revealed that two-thirds of Americans wanted law enforcement officials or government agencies to stop clowns.
Across the country, government officials reacted to concerned constituents' fears by banning clown costumes in certain situations. The police chief of Greenville, the city where the clowns were first spotted, advised he would arrest anyone dressed as a clown trying to even "politely terrorize the public." Superintendents in New Jersey, Colorado, and Pennsylvania prohibited the costumes in their respective school districts. North Carolina's Belmont Boo Festival advertised on its posters, "No adult clown costumes will be allowed at this event!"
Moreover, in a sweeping declaration, Kemper County, Mississippi officials passed an ordinance outlawing clown costumes and masks until after Halloween.
Recommended Citation
Vining, Austin
(2024)
"Trick or Treat?: Mississippi County Doesn't Clown Around With Halloween Costumes,"
Mississippi College Law Review: Vol. 36:
Iss.
3, Article 7.
Available at:
https://dc.law.mc.edu/lawreview/vol36/iss3/7