Today, I was scrolling through social media and glanced over an article that mentioned fining people who were above a certain age for trick or treating in Virginia. Being a big fan of Halloween, I immediately clicked on the article, wanting to see what exactly was going on.
In Chesapeake, Virginia, a law is in place, stating that anyone who is above the age of 13 can be fined between $25 and $100 and or receive jail time up to six months for trick-or-treating. They went on to mention that if a 13-year-old was with younger siblings or a group of friends who were below the age of 13, then they most likely wouldn't be stopped. Mostly, the law is in place to stop misbehaving or pranks pulled by teenagers. However, let's say someone is 14, and they're harmlessly trick-or-treating with their other 14-year-old friends, they could all be fined and put into jail.
Now, I know that someone of you might be thinking "Well, it's ridiculous for anyone above 12 to be going trick-or-treating anyway." Well, let's put it into perspective. When I was 13, I was in seventh grade and eighth grade. I distinctly remember going trick-or-treating in seventh grade, and at the time I was 12. When I was in eighth grade, I don't remember going trick or treating, but I do recall dressing up for Halloween at my middle school. Now, even though I stopped going trick-or-treating after middle school, I still had plenty of friends who continually went, even in their senior year of high school. They loved having a break from the stresses of school and they were really excited about planning out their Halloween costumes every year.
While I understand that the police in Virginia may want to get rid of troublemakers on Halloween by instituting this law, I think that they're also taking away some teens joy of the holiday. While some might feel it's ridiculous that a 14-year-old would want to go trick-or-treating, I believe that they could be doing a whole lot of worse things. There are plenty of teens that will go TPeeing or end up drinking. You only get to be a kid once. So, why not let some teens dress up in costumes and get some free candy? Yes, you may end up spending a bit more money on candy, but if it makes someone happy, why not do it? It's only one night a year, so let them trick-or-treat.
