Texas Cops Shut Down Little Girls' Lemonade Stand For Operating Without A Permit

By Matt Agorist
The Free Thought Project
Jun. 10, 2015

Tyler, TX — Last week, police in Texas heroically saved the town from likes of two young girls who attempted to open a black market lemonade stand. The girls, one 7-year-old and one 8-year-old, dared to try to raise money to buy a Father’s day present for their dad by setting up a lemonade stand in their neighborhood.

Andria and Zoey Green told ABC affiliate KLTV they were trying to raise about $100 for a Father’s Day present. They wanted to take him to Splash Kingdom.

Over the weekend, the two young entrepreneurs took to the streets with their delicious batch of homemade lemonade and began to provide willing customers with their product. Only one hour into their business endeavour, these girls had raised 25% of their goal.

However, their cash cow would be shut down not long after it started. Overton police chief Clyde Carter showed up along with the city code enforcer and shutdown their criminal operation.

The girls had violated Texas House Bill 970, or the Texas Baker’s Bill, which does not allow the sale of food that needs time or temperature control to prevent it from spoiling. Since the lemonade would eventually grow mold after being left out for days, police said they needed an inspection from the health department and a permit to sell it and deemed their operation “illegal.”

The cost of the permit is $150 dollars.

“It is a lemonade stand, but they also have a permit that they are required to get,” Chief Carter said.

“I think that’s ridiculous. I think they’re 7 and 8, and they’re just trying to make money for their own cause,” said Sandi Evans, the girls’ mother.

The most absurd aspect of this ordeal is that the police know it’s a ridiculous law. However, they said ridiculous or not, it’s the law and they’ll keep enforcing it.

“We have to follow by the state health guidelines,” said Carter. “They have to have a permit if they’re going to do the lemonade stands.”

Police officers can certainly use discretion and choose not to “enforce” this law for use in such an asinine application. The fact that these girls had their good intentions ruined by those who claim to protect them speaks to the level of discontent with law enforcement in America today.

The heartening side to this story is that these young girls are now learning to bypass this tyrannical system of bureaucratic nonsense. The girls said they will be setting up their lemonade stand again this weekend. Instead of selling it though, they will be giving it away, but they will gladly be accepting donations.

Hopefully next week, we aren’t reading the story of these two Texas girls being raided by the IRS for tax evasion on their lemonade donations. But in today’s police state USA, it would be entirely expected.