New laws in 2017 will make it easier for people to carry guns in public, but harder for people to use cellphones while driving. And now you can use a pitchfork to hunt catfish.
A host of new laws went into effect around the country starting on Sunday, said NBC News, including one in California that makes it against the law for a driver to hold a phone while behind the wheel.
As of Sunday in Missouri, anyone 19 or older who owns a gun is able to carry it in public, but it must be concealed, NBC News noted. The owner of the gun won’t be required to have proper training or a permit.
And the legalization of marijuana generated a crop of local and state laws to help control its use, according to Fox News.
Many states already have laws in place that restrict drivers from using cellphones, but California didn't stop there. Starting Sunday, phones must be mounted and the devices will only be allowed to be used for “functions that require a single tap or swipe, like answering a call,” said NBC News.
“If you’re not paying attention and something happens in front of you, by the time your mind thinks about it and you react to it, it is definitely too late,” said Officer Jesus Chavez of the California Highway Patrol.
Sheriff Mike Sharp of Jackson County disagreed with the new Missouri gun law.
“This law would allow anybody to go get a gun, carry it, and never have to fire the weapon until they think it’s necessary to use it, without any education whatsoever,” he said.
Marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Massachusetts and California in mid-December. Nevada legalized recreational pot at the start of the New Year and Maine is expected to do the same very soon.
Voters have already approved the legalization of marijuana in North Dakota, Montana, Florida and Arkansas, and one of the first states to legalize pot, Colorado, will now allow licensed medical marijuana growers to also sell the substance.
Minimum wages will also be increased in 2017, noted Fox News.
Starting Jan. 1, the minimum wage in Colorado went from $8.31 to $9.30 per hour for non-tipped workers. That wage is expected to jump an additional $0.90 per hour every year until it reaches $12, which it’s expected to do so by 2020.
Maine, Arizona and Washington voters also voted in favor of minimum wage increases.
Here’s a list of some of the most talked about new laws, per Houston's ABC 13 News:
• Marijuana can be used and sold legally for both medical and recreational purposes in California, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Maine.
• The fatal 2015 accident involving a FedEx delivery truck and a charter bus brought on a new California law – one requiring charter bus drivers to improve upon their safety instructions for passengers.
• California will ban “easily reloadable semi-automatic weapons” and won’t allow magazines that contain more than 10 bullets.
• Illinois is requiring cosmetologists to participate in training geared towards recognizing signs of abuse. The state hopes this will strengthen their fight against domestic and sexual abuse.
• 20 states, including Missouri and Arizona, are raising their minimum wage.
• Illinois residents will be allowed to hunt catfish using “a pitchfork, a spear gun or a bow-and-arrow.”
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