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That so many things remain closed on Easter, Christmas or federal holiday is by tradition - not by blue laws. Paragraph is irrelevent.
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Laws of this type are also found in non-Christian cultures such as Israel, where the day concerned is Saturday rather than Sunday, and most countries with Muslim majority, where the month of [[Ramadan]] is involved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ukinsaudiarabia.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-saudi-arabia/ |title=Living in Saudi Arabia |publisher=Ukinsaudiarabia.fco.gov.uk |date= |accessdate=2009-07-21}}</ref>
Laws of this type are also found in non-Christian cultures such as Israel, where the day concerned is Saturday rather than Sunday, and most countries with Muslim majority, where the month of [[Ramadan]] is involved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ukinsaudiarabia.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-saudi-arabia/ |title=Living in Saudi Arabia |publisher=Ukinsaudiarabia.fco.gov.uk |date= |accessdate=2009-07-21}}</ref>

In the United States in particular, almost everything is closed on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.
Banks, post offices, schools, government offices, most businesses (other than retail and restaurants) remain closed on all public holidays.


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 05:43, 4 November 2010

This article is about laws created to enforce strict moral standards. For early Colony of Connecticut laws, see Blue Laws (Connecticut).

A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and Canada, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping. Most have been repealed, have been declared unconstitutional, or are simply unenforced, although prohibitions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, and occasionally almost all commerce, on Sundays are still enforced in many areas. Blue laws often prohibit an activity only during certain hours and there are usually exceptions to the prohibition of commerce, like grocery and drug stores. In some places blue laws may be enforced due to religious principles, but others are retained as a matter of tradition or out of convenience.[1]

Laws of this type are also found in non-Christian cultures such as Israel, where the day concerned is Saturday rather than Sunday, and most countries with Muslim majority, where the month of Ramadan is involved.[2]

History

The first occurrence of the phrase blue law so far found is in the New-York Mercury of March 3, 1755, where the writer imagines a future newspaper praising the revival of "our Connecticut's old Blue Laws." In his 1781 book General History of Connecticut, the Reverend Samuel Peters (1735–1826) used it to describe various laws first enacted by Puritan colonies in the 17th century that prohibited various activities, recreational as well as commercial, on Sunday Sabbath (Saturday evening through Sunday night). Sometimes the sale of certain types of merchandise was prohibited, and in some cases all retail and business activity.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence to support the assertion that the blue laws were originally printed on blue paper. Rather, the word blue was used in the 17th century as a disparaging reference to rigid moral codes and those who observed them, particularly in blue-stocking, a reference to Oliver Cromwell's supporters in the parliament of 1653.[3] Moreover, although Reverend Peters claimed that the term blue law was originally used by Puritan colonists, his work has since been found to be unreliable.[4] In any event, Peters never asserted that the blue laws were originally printed on blue paper, and this has come to be regarded as an example of false etymology. Another version is that the laws were first bound in books with blue covers. (See related article: Blue Laws)

Southern and mid-western states also passed numerous laws to protect Sunday Sabbath during the mid to late nineteenth century. Laws targeted numerous groups including saloon owners, Jews, Seventh-day Adventists, and non-religious peoples. These Sunday laws enacted at the state and local levels would sometimes carry penalties for doing non-religious activities on Sunday as part of an effort to enforce religious observance and church attendance. Numerous people were arrested for playing cards, baseball, and even fixing wagon wheels on Sunday. Some of these laws still exist today.

Many European countries still place strong restrictions on store opening hours on Sundays, an example being Germany's Ladenschlussgesetz.

In Henry Taber's Faith or Fact, he writes:

The first observance of Sunday—that history records is in the fourth century', when Constantine issued an edict (not requiring its religious observance, but simply abstinence from work) reading, 'let all the judges and people of the town rest and all the various trades be suspended on the venerable day of the sun.' At the time of the issue of this edict, Constantine was a sun-worshiper; therefore it could have had no relation whatsoever to Christianity.

In Texas, for example, blue laws prohibited selling housewares such as pots, pans, and washing machines on Sunday until 1985. In Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, car dealerships continue to operate under blue-law prohibitions in which an automobile may not be purchased or traded on a Sunday. Maryland permits Sunday automobile sales only in the counties of Prince George's, Montgomery, and Howard; similarly, Michigan restricts Sunday sales to only those counties with a population of less than 130,000. Texas and Utah prohibit car dealerships from operating over consecutive weekend days. In some cases these laws were created or retained with the support of those whom they affected, to allow them a day off each week without fear of their competitors still being open.[5]

Many states still prohibit selling alcohol on Sunday, or at least before noon on Sunday, under the rationale that people should be in church on Sunday morning, or at least not drinking. At least one unusual feature of American culture—the ability to buy groceries, office supplies, and housewares from a drug store—can be traced to blue laws (under blue laws, drug stores are generally allowed to remain open on Sunday to accommodate emergency medical needs). [citation needed]

Blue laws may also prohibit retail activity on days other than Sunday. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, for example, blue laws dating to the Puritans of the 17th century still prohibit most retail stores, including grocery stores, from opening on Thanksgiving and Christmas.[6]

Examples of blue laws in the United States

Arizona

In the state of Arizona, alcohol sales are not permitted between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. On Sundays, stores may not start selling alcohol until 10 a.m. However, effective July 29, 2010, alcohol can be sold at 6 a.m. on Sundays.

Arkansas

The sale of any "intoxicating alcoholic liquor" on Sunday is prohibited by state law.[7] However, restaurants or hotels that have appropriate alcohol licenses and are in jurisdictions that voted to allow Sunday sales are allowed to serve alcohol on Sunday for on-premises consumption.[8] The same rule applies to large attendance facilities.[9]

Colorado

Alcohol sales are prohibited on Christmas Day in the state of Colorado. The sale of alcohol for on-premise consumption is banned from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. Last call is at 2:30am at the mile high city. Sunday liquor sales were prohibited until 2008. Alcohol was often times transported into the state on Sundays from Nebraska, which is legal. Car sales are prohibited on Sundays.

Connecticut

Since the founding of the puritanical theological colony of New Haven in 1638, Connecticut had some of the strictest blue laws in the country. Until the 1970s, no stores were allowed to open on Sundays, save Jewish-owned businesses, which had to be closed on Saturdays. To this day, liquor sales and hunting on Sundays are illegal. Originally stores were not allowed to sell liquor after 8 p.m. but recently stores have the option of staying open until 9 p.m. Bars and restaurants are forbidden to sell liquor after 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday nights bars and restaurants can remain open until 2 a.m.

Florida

Alcohol sales are prohibited before 11:00 on Sundays.

Car dealerships are open 7 days a week in Florida

Georgia

Alcohol sales are generally prohibited on Sundays, with some exceptions made at the discretion of local governments. Cities and counties of sufficiently large populations may authorize Sunday alcohol sales by the drink at festivals, large events, and "eating establishments," which are defined as licensed establishments in which most revenue is generated through sales of prepared food.[10]

The sale of alcohol is also prohibited after 1 a.m. in some counties and 2 a.m. in other counties. Effingham county, for instance, prohibits the sale of alcohol after midnight.

Illinois

Car sales are prohibited on Sundays.[11] Horse racing is prohibited on Sundays unless authorized by the local municipality.[12]

Indiana

Off-premises alcohol sales are completely prohibited on Sundays. Restaurants and taverns generally still serve it.[13] Additionally, alcohol sales are prohibited Christmas Day and election days until the polls close.[14] Vehicle sales are also banned on Sundays.

Iowa

Car sales are prohibited on Sundays.

Louisiana

Car sales are prohibited on Sundays.

Maine

Maine was the last New England State to take off the books laws that prohibited department stores from opening on Sundays. The laws against the department stores opening on Sundays were ended by referendum in 1990. Recent efforts to overturn the laws restricting automobile dealerships from opening on Sunday have died in committee in the Maine legislature.[15] Rep. Don Pilon of Saco has led the effort to get rid of the laws that prohibit automobile dealerships from opening for business on Sundays.

Massachusetts

Most off-premises alcohol sales were not permitted on Sundays until 2004. Exceptions were made in 1990 for municipalities that fell within 10 miles of the New Hampshire or Vermont border. Since 1992 cities and towns statewide were able to sell on Sundays from the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving to New Years Day. In both exceptions sales were not allowed before noon. Since the law changed in 2004, off-premises sales are now allowed anywhere in the state, with local approval, after noon.[16] Retail alcohol sales remain barred on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Memorial Day. Hunting on Sunday is prohibited.

Massachusetts also has a "Day of Rest" statute that provides that all employees are entitled to one day off from work in seven calendar days.[17]

Retail employees working on Sundays must be paid time-and-a-half.[18]

Michigan

  • The sale of alcohol is banned from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 2 a.m. to noon on Sundays. The only exception to this rule is New Year's Day, in which case alcohol sales are permitted until 4 a.m. Alcohol sale is likewise banned from 9 p.m. Dec. 24 until 7 a.m. Dec. 26, or noon if Dec. 26 falls on a Sunday. Specific localities may petition for exceptions for either on-site or off-site consumption.[19]
  • Additionally, vehicle sales are banned on Sunday in counties having a population of 130,000 or more. Vehicle dealers who keep seventh-day Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday may operate on Sundays instead.[20]

Minnesota

  • The sale of alcohol in liquor stores is prohibited state-wide on Sundays.[21]
  • Car dealerships are not allowed to be open for sales on Sunday.[22]

Mississippi

  • The sale of alcohol is prohibited in most of Mississippi on Sundays. Also, the sale of liquor is not allowed at all in nearly half of the state's counties.[23]

Missouri

  • The sale of alcohol is prohibited from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday.[24] Alcohol sales on Sunday are allowed from 9:00 a.m. to midnight subject to an additional liquor license fee.[25]
  • Car sales are prohibited on Sundays.

New Jersey

One of the last remaining blue laws, actually non-religious Sunday Closing laws, in the United States that covers selling electronics, clothing and furniture is found in Bergen County, New Jersey.[27][28][29]

Car dealerships are also closed on Sundays in New Jersey.

Commercial clamming is also prohibited on Sunday.

Reduced hours on Sundays

New Mexico

Alcohol sales are prohibited between midnight and 7:00 a.m. in package stores (consumption off premise), 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. in bars and restaurants with a full dispenser license (consumption on premise), and 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in restaurants with a beer and wine only license. No alcohol may be sold anywhere before noon on Sundays.

New York

Alcohol sales for consumption off-premises are not permitted between 3 AM and 8 AM on Sundays, while on-premises sales are not permitted between 4 AM and 8 AM on any day. Liquor stores are also required to close one day per week, on a day of the store's choosing. Prior to 2006, off-premises alcohol sales were forbidden until noon on Sundays, and liquor/wine stores were required to be closed the entire day. Because grocery stores are not permitted to carry wine or liquor, the older law essentially meant that only beer and alcoholic malt beverages could be purchased at all on Sundays.

Relatively few parts of New York actually permit alcohol sales at all times permissible under state law; most counties have more restrictive blue laws of their own.[30]

NY State liquor authorities ban new permits for establishments on the same street or avenue and within two hundred feet of a building occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship [31]

North Carolina

North Dakota

  • All retail and liquor stores, excluding grocery stores and drug stores, must remain closed between the hours of midnight and noon Sundays.
  • Car sales are prohibited on Sundays.

Ohio

Alcohol sales are barred from 2:30-5:30 a.m. on Monday through Saturday (and on Sundays for beer). Wine and spirits sales are barred from 2:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m. (or 2:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m., depending on the license and local ordinances) on Sundays and require an additional license.

Oklahoma

It is illegal to sell packaged liquor (off-premises sales) on Sundays. Sales also are prohibited on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.[33] Car dealerships are also closed on Sundays.[34]

Oregon

Main article: Alcohol in Oregon

Oregon was the first place in the U.S. to outlaw alcohol, prior to statehood, in 1844. The law was repealed in 1849. It then implemented prohibition again in 1916, prior to national prohibition. Today, liquor sales are conducted by state-licensed liquor stores; alcohol may be sold for on- or off-premises consumption from 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily.

Pennsylvania

Main article: Alcohol laws of Pennsylvania
  • Aside from restaurants (or bars whose food business exceeded a certain percentage of sales) with a special permit, the sale of alcohol on Sundays was prohibited until 2003. Since 2005, hours of sales of malt and brewed beverages on Sundays depends on whether beer distributors have obtained a Sunday sales permit from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. For beer distributors without a Sunday sales permit, sales and delivery of malt or brewed beverages can occur from noon until 5:00 p.m. Some wine and spirits stores, which are operated by the state, are selectively open on Sundays.
  • To this day, hunting is prohibited on Sundays, with the exception of foxes, crows and coyotes.[35]
  • Car dealerships are also prohibited from being open on Sundays.

South Carolina

Blue laws in South Carolina were first enacted in colonial times, with Sunday being the prescribed day for Christians and Saturday the prescribed day for Jews. While blue laws are still in place throughout the state, counties and cities have the option of repealing most of them.

  • As of today, South Carolina blue laws prohibit sporting events and non-essential businesses from operating on Sundays before 1:30 p.m. with the exception of events on college campuses and motorsport events of a minimum distance of 250 miles (402 kilometres). Many counties and towns in high-tourist areas have repealed this. Places such as gas stations and grocery stores are exempt as well.
  • As of October 20, 2009, the Sunday retail Blue Laws in Greenwood County are no more, by unanimous vote of the Greenwood County Council.[36]
  • While there are no dry counties in South Carolina, most counties still prohibit Sunday off-premise beer and wine sales. Liquor stores must remain closed on Sundays by state law. Cities and counties may hold a referendum to allow the sale of beer and wine off-premise on Sundays. This referendum may only be scheduled after the city or county exhibits an ability to generate $1,000,000 in Sales Tax receipts, thereby allowing for a designation of the area as a tourist environment. Restaurants can obtain an exemption to serve on Sundays as well, but only in those areas having passed the previously mentioned referendum. Sunday sales permits cost $75 per day or $3800 annually.

Blue Laws in motorsport

From 1950 until 1983, the Southern 500 auto race in Darlington was held on Monday (Labor Day) because of blue laws; a 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman race at Darlington was 250 miles, not the traditional 200 miles, because it was run on the Sunday before the Southern 500. State blue laws mandate a race distance of 250 miles for Sunday races. Also, the inaugural Rebel 300 resulted in a fine for track president Bob Colvin for holding it on a Sunday after the Saturday before was rained out; ironically, the Rebel 500 run 50 years later in 2007 was pushed from Saturday to Sunday and run at 1 PM, with the 250-mile exemption in place.

Blue Laws in athletics

The inaugural Cooper River Bridge Run, conducted in Mount Pleasant and Charleston, was held on Sunday, April 2, 1978 at 10 AM, but drew complaints from churches, especially on Meeting Street with the run to White Point Gardens; that led to the race being moved to Saturday in 1979, where it stands to this day.

The three marathons run in the state—in Greenville, Kiawah Island, and Myrtle Beach -— are all held on Saturday, as was one in Columbia that no longer is conducted but was also used as the 2000 United States Olympic women's marathon trials. Greenville had been held on a Sunday in the first two years (2006–07) as it runs through the Furman University campus (college events are exempt by the law). However, complaints have led the third Spinx Run Fest marathon in 2008 being moved to Saturday.

When severe weather forced the cancellation of the 13th Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon presented by Chick-Fil-A February 13, 2010, some runners (mostly out of state runners who had trained) complained about not postponing the race 24 hours to Sunday. Race director Shaun Walsh, speaking for the organisers, noted to the media after the announcement, "Sunday is a worship day. People have things to do. People have plans." The course runs through twelve churches, mostly laid out on Kings Highway, and many volunteers for the race are from the respective churches.[37]

Tennessee

  • Sale of liquor is prohibited on Sundays with the exception of restaurants and some hotels
  • Likewise, all liquor stores are closed on Sunday
  • Several Tennessee counties are dry counties (the ownership and operation of stores that sell liquor (anything stronger than beer or wine) is prohibited), and may not sell beer/wine until after noon on Sundays, if it is permitted at all.

Texas

  • Until 1985, Texas retail stores were forbidden to sell items that performed work on Sundays. The distinction was peculiar. For example, nails could be sold, but not hammers, since it was deemed that the hammer performed the work. This portion of the blue laws was challenged by Handy Dan Hardware in 1984 and repealed the following year.
  • Car lots are closed on either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the dealership.
  • Beverages of 20% alcohol content or higher are prohibited from sale on Sunday with the exception of establishments that sell food
  • Liquor stores closed statewide on Sundays
  • Liquor stores open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday
  • Certain towns do not allow hard alcohol at all.
  • Certain towns do now allow alcohol sales.
  • Justice of the Peace precincts in the city and county of Dallas set their own rules on alcohol sales, often by street location.
  • Beer and wine may be purchased at any open store until midnight Sunday through Friday.
  • Beer and wine may be purchased at any open store until 1 a.m. Saturday.
  • You can only buy beer and wine after 12:00 (noon) Sunday. The rest of the week it may be purchased at 7 a.m.
  • On Christmas Day only beer and wine are allowed to be sold, all hard liquor sales are prohibited except at restaurants

Utah

  • Liquor stores are closed statewide on Sundays.
  • Car lots are closed on either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the dealership.

Virginia

Blue laws were repealed in Virginia in 1988. However, some businesses, including the state owned and operated "ABC" liquor stores, continue to observe them to some extent. ABC stores began to operate on Sundays at certain locations starting July 1, 2008.

Washington

Washington state's broad prohibition on Sunday business activity was repealed by the initiative process in 1966. The state's Liquor Control Board authorized Sunday liquor sales on a restricted basis in 1967, and in 1976 expanded the hours for those sales to the same as for other days of the week.

West Virginia

  • The sale of liquor is prohibited statewide on Sundays and Election Day. Beer and wine may be purchased after 1 pm.
  • Hunting on Sunday is illegal in 41 of 55 counties.[38]

Wisconsin

All vehicle sales prohibited on Sundays.

Canada

The Lord's Day Act, which since 1906 had prohibited business transactions from taking place on Sundays, was struck down as unconstitutional in the 1985 case R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd. Calgary police officers witnessed several transactions at the Big M Drug Mart, all of which occurred on a Sunday. Big M was charged with a violation of the Lord's Day Act. A provincial court ruled that the Lord's Day Act was unconstitutional, but the Crown proceeded to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. In a unanimous 6-0 decision, the Lord's Day Act was ruled an infringement of the freedom of conscience and religion defined in section 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[39]

Cook Islands

In the Cook Islands, blue laws were first written legislation, enacted by the London Missionary Society in 1827, with the consent of ariki (chiefs). In Tonga, the Vava'u Code (1839) was inspired by Methodist missionary teachings, and was a form of blue law. In Niue, certain activities remain forbidden on Sunday, reflecting the country's history of observing Christian Sabbath tradition.

Costa Rica

Alcohol sales are prohibited during Thursday and Friday of Holy Week.

Israel

Running most public transportation from Friday evenings to Saturday evenings is banned in Israel.[40]

Islamic countries

In most countries with Islamic majority, people are not allowed to eat, drink, or smoke in public during the day time of the fasting month of Ramadan. Also, restaurants are ordered to close during day time, the time when Muslims are fasting.

In Saudi Arabia, shops are requested to close during Islamic prayers time, which is five times a day.

Court cases

The concept of a secular day of rest, not directly related to a religious day of rest, has been adduced as justification for retention of restrictions on commercial activity on Sunday.

In R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd., [1985] (1 S.C.R. 295), the Canada Supreme Court opined that the 1906 Lord's Day Act that required most places to be closed on Sunday did not have a legitimate secular purpose, and was an unconstitutional attempt to establish a religious-based closing law in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the court later concluded, in R. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd., [1986] (2 S.C.R. 713) that Ontario's Retail Business Holiday Act, which required some Sunday closings, did not violate the Charter because it did not have a religious purpose.

The Supreme Court of the United States held in its landmark case, McGowan v. Maryland (1961), that Maryland's blue laws violated neither the Free Exercise Clause nor the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It approved the state's blue law restricting commercial activities on Sunday, noting that while such laws originated to encourage attendance at Christian churches, the contemporary Maryland laws were intended to serve "to provide a uniform day of rest for all citizens" on a secular basis and to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest. That this day coincides with Christian Sabbath is not a bar to the state's secular goals; it neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days.[41]

There were four landmark Sunday-law cases altogether in 1961. The other three were Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Mass., Inc., 366 U.S. 617 (1961); Braunfeld v. Brown, 366 U.S. 599 (1961); Two Guys from Harrison vs. McGinley, 366 U.S. 582 (1961).[42]

In March 2006 Texas judges upheld the state Blue Law that requires car dealerships to close either Saturday or Sunday each weekend.[43]

See also

References

  1. ^ Answers.com: Encyclopedia Britannica, Columbia Encyclopedia and The Reader's Companion to American History. Retrieved August 13, 2006.
  2. ^ "Living in Saudi Arabia". Ukinsaudiarabia.fco.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  3. ^ Oxford English Dictionary.
  4. ^ Snopes.com: American "blue laws" were so named because they were originally printed on blue paper.. Retrieved July 12, 2006.
  5. ^ Good Question: Why Can't We Buy Alcohol On Sunday?, WCCO-TV, November 20, 2006
  6. ^ "A turkey of a blue law", Boston Globe. Retrieved November 25, 2006.
  7. ^ "Arkansas Code 3-3-210"[dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Arkansas Code 3-9-215"[dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Arkansas Code 3-9-216"[dead link‍]
  10. ^ "O.C.G.A. § 3-3-7". Web.lexis-nexis.com. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  11. ^ "ILCS 5/5‑106". Ilga.gov. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  12. ^ "ILCS 5/19". Ilga.gov. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  13. ^ "IC7.1-3-1-14". In.gov. 1987-09-01. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  14. ^ "IC7.1-5-10-1". In.gov. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  15. ^ Blue Laws: Blessing or Curse" in Dealernews, Mar. 18, 2010>
  16. ^ Russell, Jenna (2003-11-23). "Sunday liquor sale ban to end Romney to sign law lifting the prohibition". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-08-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ The General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 149: Section 48. One day of rest in seven; operation of business on Sunday; violations
  18. ^ The General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 136, Section 6, Paragraph 50.
  19. ^ "MCL 436.2113". Legislature.mi.gov. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  20. ^ "MCL Act 66 of 1953". Legislature.mi.gov. 1953-05-12. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  21. ^ MN Stat. 340A.504
  22. ^ MN Stat. 168.275
  23. ^ Image of wet/dry counties from Mississippi Tax Commission, Alcohol and Beverage Control
  24. ^ "Missouri Rev. Stat. § 311.290". Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  25. ^ "Missouri Rev. Stat. § 311.293". Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  26. ^ Kaufman, Charles H. (1981). Music in New Jersey, 1655–1860. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 18. ISBN 0838622704.
  27. ^ Strum, Charles (November 3, 1993). "Sunday-Closing Law Retained in New Jersey County". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-25. Efforts to repeal the 34-year-old ban on Sunday retailing in Bergen County, one of the country's richest shopping areas, were turned back easily today. ... Even if the county laws had been repealed, stores in Paramus would have remained closed because the community enforces its own ordinances against Sunday shopping and has vowed not to lift them {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  28. ^ Borough of Paramus, NJ — Chapter 391: SUNDAY ACTIVITIES § 391-1. Findings., Paramus, New Jersey. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
  29. ^ IN NEW JERSEY; PARAMUS BLUE LAWS CRIMP OFFICE LEASING, The New York Times, November 4, 1984. "Officials tried to regulate the effects of the tremendous growth on the borough by insisting that at least one day a week, Paramus be allowed to enjoy some of its former peace and quiet. In 1957, an ordinance was passed banning all worldly employment on Sundays, forcing all the new stores and malls built in the celery fields to close for the day."
  30. ^ "Law Permits Earlier Booze Buying". Rnews.com. Retrieved 2009-07-21. [dead link‍]
  31. ^ https://www.weblaws.org/states/new_york/statutes/n.y._alcoholic_beverage_control_law_sec._64
  32. ^ (http://www.ncwildlife.org/HotTopics/documents/SundayHuntingFAQ.pdf)
  33. ^ http://oklegal.onenet.net/okcon/XXVIII-6.html
  34. ^ http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/08/changing_states_56yearold_ban.html
  35. ^ Pennsylvania Game Commission General Hunting Regulations Retrieved 2010-08-21
  36. ^ The Index-Journal: Blue Laws are no more. Retrieved Oct 21, 2009. [dead link‍]
  37. ^ WMBF on cancellation of the Myrtle Beach Marathon in 2010.
  38. ^ "West Virginia DNR -- Sunday Hunting". 10 November 2005. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  39. ^ "CanLII - 1985 CanLII 69 (S.C.C.)". Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII.org). 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  40. ^ "Knesset Considers Law to Change Israeli Sabbath Observance — Inside Israel — Israel News". Israel National News. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  41. ^ McGOWAN v. MARYLAND, 366 U.S. 420 (1961), Supreme Court of the United States, Decided May 29, 1961. Accessed August 10, 2007. "The present purpose and effect of most of our Sunday Closing Laws is to provide a uniform day of rest for all citizens; and the fact that this day is Sunday, a day of particular significance for the dominant Christian sects, does not bar the State from achieving its secular goals."
  42. ^ The LANDMARK Cases, National Sunday Law Crisis. Accessed May 21, 2008.
  43. ^ "'Blue Law' for car sales upheld by Judge", KVIA, March 22, 2006. Accessed May 28, 2008. "A Texas judge has upheld an old law that requires car dealerships in the Lone Star state to close one day each weekend. They must now choose to open either Saturday or Sunday."
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