The town of Bel Air, Maryland, has overturned a long-standing ban on fortunetelling, in order to avoid language that could have been viewed as religious discrimination. The board agreed to allow fortune-telling in areas zoned for specific types of businesses. They also removed "references to the occult from the definition of fortune-telling," as requested by the mayor, who had concerns that language relating to the occult could set the town up for religious discrimination lawsuits. The town became the last jurisdiction in its county to overturn a wholesale ban on fortune-telling.
Only one resident spoke out against repealing the ban, saying his brother had been swindled out of thousands of dollars by a fortune teller. Many of America's remaining ordinances on such things as palm reading and Tarot cards were enacted to protect residents from transient scam artists who preyed upon desperate people during the Great Depression. In many areas, the laws have remained on the books ever since.
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Only one resident spoke out against repealing the ban, saying his brother had been swindled out of thousands of dollars by a fortune teller. Many of America's remaining ordinances on such things as palm reading and Tarot cards were enacted to protect residents from transient scam artists who preyed upon desperate people during the Great Depression. In many areas, the laws have remained on the books ever since.
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In my city, fortune telling is illegal, but there are at least two that I know of that have been around for decades, so I think they just ignore it.