Custom Function Question

[jjfletch]

Hi there,

Can I run a query within a custom function? I tried the following, but keep getting the: "Parse error: parse error, unexpected $..." error

function state () 
{
      echo "State: <select name=\"state\"><option>Select One</option>:";
           $query = "SELECT DISTINCT(state) FROM choices ORDER BY state asc";
           $result = mysql_query ($query);
           while ($row = mysql_fetch_array ($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
      echo "<option value=\"{$row['state']}\">{$row['state']}</option>\n</select>";
}

As always, your help is greatly appreciated!