Unusual measure
US governor suspends law for Scotland fans
June 20, 2026 – 12:23 a.mReading time: 1 min.
Haggis is sought after in Scotland but banned in the USA. A governor now ignored it,
One of the most popular Scottish dishes is haggis, a hearty specialty traditionally made from the innards of a sheep. It is banned by law in the USA – to the chagrin of Scottish fans. But now there was a twist.
Because the governor of the US state of Massachusetts, Maura Healy, had sympathy for the Scottish fans who are guests in the city of Boston and support their team. According to her own statements, she has suspended the law that actually bans haggis.
Announcement in podcast
The ban has existed throughout the United States since 1970. It prohibits the use of sheep offal, especially the lungs. But this makes up 15 percent of the Scottish national dish, reports the US broadcaster ESPN. Although you can buy haggis in the USA, chicken offal and minced lamb are used.
Haggis is a classic Scottish dish and is traditionally served during Burns Night – celebrating Scotland’s 18th century national poet Robert Burns – alongside neeps and tatties and a glass of whiskey.
The governor announced her exemption on a podcast where she was a guest of Scottish podcaster David McIntosh Jr. In it she said, “We made haggis legal in Massachusetts.” As ESPN reports, it is questionable whether the court is actually available, because states are not actually allowed to simply override federal laws.