In many states, the power to enact a blue law is left to local city and county governments. While blue laws may seem unconstitutional because they are based on religion, the U.S. Supreme Court has declared them constitutional, pointing out that blue laws provide some workers with a day off and guarantee freedom of religion. Blue laws are laws that prohibit certain types of activities on Sundays. Although these laws have existed throughout American history, most people associate them with the late 1800s and early 1900s, when progressives were a powerful group seeking to reform the United States socially, politically, and economically. In Canada, the Sunday League, a Roman Catholic Sunday league, supported the Lord`s Day Act in 1923 and promoted Sabbatarian legislation on the first day. [20] [Examination rejected] [21] Beginning in the 1840s, workers, Jews, Seventh-day Baptists, freethinkers, and other groups began to organize opposition. Over the course of the century, Sunday laws fueled controversy between church and state and contributed to the emergence of modern American minority rights policies. [22] On the other hand, the new Dies Domini, written by Pope John Paul II in 1998, advocates Sunday legislation because it protects civil servants and workers; The 2011 Catholic Conference of North Dakota also asserted that the blue laws, consistent with the Compendium of the Church`s Social Doctrine, «ensure that citizens are not deprived of time for rest and worship for reasons of economic productivity.» [23] Similarly, while acknowledging the partially religious origin of the Blue Laws, Chief Justice Earl Warren recognized «the secular purpose they served in providing benefits to workers while increasing labour productivity.» [24] Although the historical roots of Sunday trade laws are well known in the United States, the origin of the term «blue laws» remains a mystery.

According to a 1961 Time magazine editorial, the year the Supreme Court heard four cases on the subject, the color blue was associated with colonial laws directed against the red emblem of the British royal family. [17] Further explanations were provided. One of the most common is that the first blue laws passed in Connecticut were printed on blue paper. However, no copies were found to support this claim. [18] A more plausible explanation that is generally accepted is that the laws passed by the Puritans were aimed at upholding morality and were therefore «blue nose,» although the term «blue» may have been used in the colloquial language of the time as a synonym for Puritanism itself, in fact too strict. [16] [2] There are currently 28 states with blue laws, and the laws vary from state to state, and different counties sometimes have their own blue laws. There are also blue laws in the Cook Islands and Niue. In the Cook Islands, these were the first written laws enacted in 1827 by the London Missionary Society with the consent of the ariki (chiefs). Niue`s laws prohibit certain Sunday activities, reflecting the country`s history of keeping the Christian Sabbath tradition. Critics accuse the laws of being economically burdensome and violating First Amendment religious freedom clauses.

Some argue that the laws violate the free exercise clause by disadvantaging those whose Sabbath is not Sunday, while others argue that the laws violate the establishment clause by supporting and promoting Christianity. Still others say that laws – although religious in origin – are now justified by secular objectives. The first known example of the phrase «blue laws» printed was in the March 3, 1755 issue of the New York Mercury, in which the author envisioned a future newspaper praising the revival of «our old blue laws [of Connecticut].» [14] In his 1781 book General History of Connecticut, the Rev. Samuel Peters (1735-1826) used the term to describe many laws passed by 17th century Puritans that prohibited various Sunday activities, both recreational and commercial. [15] Moreover, Peters` book is considered an unreliable account of the laws and was probably written to satirize their Puritan nature. [16] Proponents of the Blue Laws believed that Sunday should be dedicated to worshipping God. Activities that discouraged people from going to church had to be prevented. To prevent these activities, many municipalities have introduced blue laws. One of the most common blue laws prohibited shops from opening on Sundays. Another blue law made it illegal to sell alcohol on Sundays. Some churches have even banned professional sports on Sundays, fearing that these sports will drive people away from the church and cause people to engage in sinful activities such as gambling and drinking. While recognizing the religious origins of the Sunday laws, the court concluded that they were constitutional.

Much of the religious language had been removed from the law – except for a single remaining reference to the «Lord`s Day» – and many restrictions had been lifted. Research has been conducted on the effects of repealing blue laws, with Baylor University Professor Elesha Coffman writing:[45] Our editors will review what you have submitted and decide whether to revise the article. A grassroots movement has tried to end the latest blue laws in Virginia. The grassroots efforts focused on a Facebook group called «Legalizing Sunday Hunting in Virginia for All.» [80] In recent efforts, the Sunday Hunting Act passed the Senate by an overwhelming majority, but was defeated by a 4-3 vote in the Natural Resources Subcommittee of Representative R. Lee Ware (chairman of the Powhatan Republican Committee, Virginia). During the February 1, 2012 debate[81] in the notice section of Powhatan Today, Delegate Ware expressed concern about the dangers of hunting activities in these quotes. «Bullets move regardless of property lines – just like shotgun bullets or snails or even bow arrows strong enough. And there is always the danger for an unsuspecting rider to encounter a hunter who mistakes a horse – or a person – for a deer or other game.

«Horseback riders, hikers, cyclists, picnickers, birdwatchers, fishermen, canoeists, kayakers: they all want to enjoy the outdoors of Virginia too, often on Sundays — and they want to do it without the threat that inevitably comes from the presence of rifle hunters or shotguns.» The Supreme Court has ruled that Sunday laws are allowed, and many states still have them, although they are not as restrictive as they were in early America. Most today deal with the ban on the sale of alcohol on Sundays, as shown in this photo, where the wine department of a Trader Joe store in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is cordoned off to comply with that state`s law. (Photo by Mx. Granger, public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Proponents argue that blue laws serve valid secular purposes, such as a uniform day of rest and reducing police workload (in the case of laws limiting alcohol sales and the potential enforcement problems that result). «Given that the Court of Appeal recognizes that Sabbath laws are based on religious beliefs, it is time to declare all of these laws unconstitutional. Replacing a secular concern such as protecting «family and pop» from revision with the earlier concern that the religious character of the day be respected does not make the law in question any less objectionable, especially when the government tells the retailer what day the Sabbath is. In Belfast, public playgrounds were closed on Sundays until 1965. Swings in public parks were tied and locked with padlocks to prevent their use. [30] [31] Similar laws applied to cinemas, pubs and parks.

[32] Certainly, the controversy over the blue laws will continue. As such, the laws raised constitutional concerns under the First Amendment. The founding clause of the First Amendment explicitly prohibits any law «that respects a religious community.» By declaring Sunday Sabbath and restricting the activities of individuals on that day, states with blue Sunday laws arguably favored Christianity over religions that observe various Sabbaths.