View source for Blue law

{{Short description|Legal restrictions designated for Sunday activity}}
{{about|restriction of all activities on Sundays|the specific topic of shopping on Sunday|Sunday shopping}}
{{see also|Blue Laws (Connecticut)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
[[File:Sabbath Eve.jpg|thumb|300px|''Sabbath Eve'', painting by [[Alexander Johnston (artist)|Alexander Johnston]]]]
'''Blue laws''' (also known as '''Sunday laws''', '''Sunday trade laws''', and '''Sunday closing laws''') are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually [[Sunday]]s in the [[western world]]. The laws were adopted originally for [[Religion|religious]] reasons, specifically to promote the observance of the [[Christian]] day of [[worship]]. Since then, they have come to serve [[secular]] purposes as well.

Blue laws commonly ban certain business and recreational activities on Sundays, and impose restrictions on the [[retail stores|retail sale]] of [[hard goods]] and [[consumables]], particularly [[alcoholic beverages]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Seelye|first=Katharine Q.|title=Where Pilgrims Landed, Thanksgiving Is Kept at Table, Not Mall|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 20, 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/us/blue-laws-curb-consumerism-where-pilgrims-gave-thanks.html?|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name=CourantLawsFading>{{cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-leff-blue-laws-connecticut-0226-20150225-story.html|title=Once Strict 'Blue Laws' Have Largely Faded|last=Leff|first=David K.|date=February 25, 2015|newspaper=[[Hartford Courant]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> The laws also place limitations on a range of other endeavors—including [[travel]], [[fashion]]s, [[hunting]], [[professional sports]], [[theatre|stage performances]], [[motion pictures|movie showings]], and gambling.<ref name=FreedomForum>{{cite web|url=https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/topics/freedom-of-religion/free-exercise-clause-overview/blue-laws/|title=Blue Laws|last=Hudson|first=David L. Jr. |date=August 2009|publisher=[[Freedom Forum|Freedom Forum Institute]]|access-date=December 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Myers|first=Gustavus|title=Ye Olden Blue Laws|publisher=[[University of California]]|date=1921|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wN1EAAAAIAAJ|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> While less prevalent today, blue laws continue to be enforced in parts of the United States and [[Canada]] as well as in European countries, such as [[Austria]], [[Germany]], [[Norway]], and [[Poland]], where most stores are required to close on Sundays.<ref name=FreedomForum /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.austria-today.com/what-shops-in-austria-work-on-weekends/|title=What shops in Austria work on weekends|last=Яна|date=December 20, 2018|website=Austria Today|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/is-it-time-germany-opened-up-its-stores-on-sundays/a-57191980|title=Is it time Germany opened up its stores on Sundays?|last=Sullivan|first=Arthur|date=April 15, 2021|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitnordic.com/en/article/opening-hours-in-norway|title=Opening Hours in Norway|publisher=Visit Nordic|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/topics/5173/sunday-trading-ban-in-poland/|title=Sunday trading ban in Poland - Statistics & Facts|last=Sas|first=Adriana|date=April 25, 2021|publisher=[[Statista]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref>

In the United States, the [[U.S. Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] has upheld blue laws as [[Constitution of the United States|constitutional]] despite their religious origins if supported by secular justifications. This has resulted to the provision of a day of rest for the general population.<ref name=SupremeMcGowan>{{cite web|url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep366/usrep366420/usrep366420.pdf|title=''McGowan Et Al. v. Maryland''|date=May 29, 1961 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name=SupremeTwoGuys>{{cite web|url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep366/usrep366582/usrep366582.pdf|title=''Two Guys from Harrison-Allentown, Inc., v. McGinley, District Attorney, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Et Al.''|date=May 29, 1961|publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> Meanwhile, various state courts have struck down the laws as either unenforceable or in violation of their states' constitutions. In response, state legislators have re-enacted certain Sunday laws to satisfy the rulings while allowing some of the other statutes to remain on the books with no intention to enforce them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2015/06/a_quick_overview_of_pennsylvan.html|title=A quick overview of Pennsylvania's Blue Laws|last=Bunn|first=Rachel|date=May 22, 2019|work=[[Penn Live]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2024|reason=the source is about Pennsylvania, but the statement here describes "various state courts"; additionally, the source uses material from Wikipedia itself; finally, a legislature does not "enforce" laws, so the claim here that legislators have "no intention to enforce them" is misleading}}

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== History ==
The Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] promulgated the first known law regarding prohibition of Sunday labour for apparent religion-associated reasons in A.D. 321:

{{Blockquote|On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.|source=''[[Codex Justinianus]]'', lib. 3, tit. 12, 3}}

The earliest laws in North America addressing Sunday activities and public behavior were enacted in the [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown Colony]] in 1619 by the first [[General Assembly of Virginia]]. Among the 70 laws passed by the assembly was a mandate requiring attendance by all colonists at both morning and afternoon worship services on Sundays. The laws adopted that year also included provisions addressing idleness, gambling, drunkenness, and excessive apparel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oll.libertyfund.org/page/1619-laws-enacted-by-the-first-general-assembly-of-virginia|title=1619: Laws enacted by the First General Assembly of Virginia|publisher=[[Liberty Fund]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> Similar laws aimed at keeping the Sabbath holy and regulating morals were soon adopted throughout the colonies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1164.html|title=Blue Laws|publisher=U-S-History.com|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref>

The first known example of the phrase "blue laws" in print was in the March 3, 1755, edition of the ''New-York Mercury'', in which the writer imagines a future newspaper praising the revival of "our [Connecticut's] [[Blue Laws (Connecticut)|old Blue Laws]]".<ref>{{oed | blue law}}</ref> In his 1781 book ''General History of Connecticut'', the Reverend [[Samuel Peters (clergyman)|Samuel Peters]] (1735–1826) used the phrase to describe numerous laws adopted by 17th-century Puritans that prohibited various activities on Sunday, recreational as well as commercial.<ref>{{cite book|last=Peters|first=The Rev. Samuel|author-link=Samuel Peters (clergyman)|title=General History of Connecticut|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|date=1877|location=New York, New York|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028841654 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://archive.org/details/cu31924028841654 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> Beyond that, Peters' book is regarded as an unreliable account of the laws and probably was written to satirize their puritanical nature.<ref name=ConnecticutHistory />

While the historical roots of Sunday trade laws in the United States are generally known, the origin of the term "blue laws" remains a mystery. According to a ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine editorial in 1961, the year the Supreme Court heard four cases on the issue, the color blue came to be associated with colonial laws in opposition to the red emblem of British royalty.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,938101,00.html|title=The Law: Blue Sunday|date=June 9, 1961|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> Other explanations have been offered. One of the most widely circulated is that early blue laws adopted in [[Connecticut]] were printed on blue paper. However, no copies have been found that would support this claim and it is not deemed credible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/what-are-blue-laws/|title=Why Are Blue Laws Called 'Blue Laws'?|last=Mikkelson|first=David|date=July 19, 2021 |publisher=[[Snopes]]|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> A more plausible explanation, one that is gaining general acceptance, is that the laws adopted by Puritans were aimed at enforcing morality and thus were "blue-nosed", though the term "blue" may have been used in the vernacular of the times as a synonym for puritanism itself, in effect, overly strict.<ref name=ConnecticutHistory>{{cite web|url=https://connecticuthistory.org/the-long-ambiguous-history-of-connecticuts-blue-laws/|title=The Long, Ambiguous History of Connecticut's Blue Laws|last=Mahoney|first=Patrick J.|date=January 27, 2015 |publisher=Connecticut Humanities|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name=CourantLawsFading />

As Protestant moral reformers organized the [[Sabbath]] reform in 19th-century America, calls for the enactment and enforcement of stricter Sunday laws developed. Numerous Americans were arrested for working, keeping an open shop, drinking alcohol, traveling, and engaging in recreational activities on Sundays. Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley write that throughout their existence, organizations advocating [[first-day Sabbatarianism]], such as the [[Lord's Day Alliance]] in North America and the [[Lord's Day Observance Society]] in the British Isles, were supported by [[labor unions]] in lobbying "to prevent secular and commercial interests from hampering freedom of worship and from exploiting workers".<ref name="FahlbuschBromiley2005">{{cite book|last1=Fahlbusch|first1=Erwin|last2= Bromiley|first2= Geoffrey William|title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity|year=2005|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn= 9780802824165|page=787]|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofch0001unse_t6f2/page/787}}</ref>

In Canada, the ''Ligue du Dimanche'', a Roman Catholic Sunday league, supported the ''[[Lord's Day Act (Canada)|Lord's Day Act]]'' in 1923 and promoted first-day Sabbatarian legislation.<ref name="2005Roy">{{cite book|last= Roy|first= Christian|title= Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia|url= https://archive.org/details/traditionalfesti0000royc/page/457|url-access=registration|year= 2005|publisher= ABC-CLIO|language= en|isbn= 9781576070895|page= [https://archive.org/details/traditionalfesti0000royc/page/457 457]|quote= However, an amendment was made that left is enforcement to the discretion of the provinces, so that it remained a dead letter in mostly French Quebec. A Catholic Sunday League was formed in 1923 to combat this laxity and promote sabbatarian restrictions in that province--especially against movie theaters.}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2021}}<ref name="Rybczyński1991">{{cite book|last= Rybczyński|first= Witold|title= Waiting for the Weekend|url= https://archive.org/details/waitingforweeken00rybc|url-access= registration|year= 1991|publisher= Viking Penguin|language= en|isbn= 9780670830015|page= [https://archive.org/details/waitingforweeken00rybc/page/78 78]|quote= In 1922, inspired by a pastoral letter decrying the lax observance of Sunday as a day of rest, the Ligue du Dimanche (Sunday League) formed. For fourteen years the League agitated for Sabbatarian legislation, particularly against cinemas}}</ref> Beginning in the 1840s, workers, Jews, [[Seventh Day Baptists]], freethinkers, and other groups began to organize opposition. Throughout the century, Sunday laws fueled church{{ndash}}state controversy, and as an issue that contributed to the emergence of modern American minority-rights politics.<ref>Compare: Kyle G. Volk (2014), ''[https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Minorities-Making-American-Democracy/dp/0199371911/ Moral Minorities and the Making of American Democracy]''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|019937192X}} - "To write the history of minorities and to understand the long tradition of minority-rights activism means rediscovering those in the past who found themselves in the minority and took action."</ref> On the other hand, the more recent ''[[Dies Domini]]'', written by [[Pope John Paul II]] in 1998, advocates Sunday legislation in that it protects civil servants and workers; the North Dakota Catholic Conference in 2011 likewise maintained that blue laws, in accordance with the ''[[Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church]]'', "ensure that, for reasons of economic productivity, citizens are not denied time for rest and divine worship".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://religiousliberty.tv/north-dakota-catholic-conference-says-sunday-law-benefits-all-people-ewtn-news.html|title= North Dakota Catholic Conference says 'Sunday law' Benefits All People|date= September 19, 2011|publisher= EWTN News|language= en|access-date= July 5, 2017|archive-date= August 15, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170815025341/http://religiousliberty.tv/north-dakota-catholic-conference-says-sunday-law-benefits-all-people-ewtn-news.html|url-status= dead}}</ref> Similarly, Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]], while recognizing the partial religious origin of blue laws, acknowledged the "secular purpose they served by providing a benefit to workers at the same time that they enhanced labor productivity".<ref name="Goldberg2000">{{cite book|last= Goldberg|first= Steven|title= Seduced by Science: How American Religion Has Lost Its Way|year= 2000|publisher= NYU Press|language= en|isbn= 9780814731055|page= 106}}</ref>

== Laws by jurisdiction ==
=== Europe ===
[[File:European countries with large supermarkets open on Sundays.png|thumb|A map of Europe providing an overview of Sunday shopping laws in each country:<br /><br />'''Green:''' Large supermarkets and shopping centers are generally open on Sundays.<br />'''Blue:''' Large supermarkets are allowed to be open for no more than 6 hours on Sundays.<br />'''Red:''' Large supermarkets are generally closed on Sundays.]]

==== Germany ====
The {{Lang|de|[[Ladenschlussgesetz]]}} ("shop closing law") on Sundays and public holidays have been in effect since 1956.

==== Denmark ====
In [[Denmark]] the closing laws restricting retail trade on Sundays were effectively abolished on October 1, 2012. Retail trade is only restricted on public holidays ([[New Year's Day]], [[Maundy Thursday]], [[Good Friday]], [[Easter|Easter Sunday]], [[Easter Monday]], Day of Prayer, [[Feast of the Ascension|Ascension Day]], [[Whitsun|Whit Sunday]], [[Whit Monday]], [[Christmas|Christmas Day]] and [[Boxing Day]]) and on [[Constitution Day]], [[Christmas Eve]] and [[New Year's Eve]] (on New Year's Eve from 3&nbsp;pm only). On these days almost all shops will remain closed. Exempt are bakeries, DIYs, garden centres, gas stations and smaller supermarkets.<ref>{{cite act|url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=132057|title=Lov om ændring af lov om detailsalg fra butikker m.v. - Liberalisering af reglerne om åbningstid |trans-title=Act Amending the Law on Retail Sales from Shops, etc. - Liberalization of the Rules on Opening Hours|number= 543 |date=May 26, 2010 |publisher=Danish Civil Protection Agency |access-date=September 23, 2018|language=da|article-type=amendment}}</ref>

==== England and Wales ====
=====  Before 1994 =====
Prior to 1994, trading laws forbade sale of certain products on a Sunday; the distinction between those that could and could not be sold was increasingly seen as arbitrary, and the laws were inadequately enforced and widely flouted. For example, some supermarkets would treat the relatively modest fines arising as a business cost and open nonetheless.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ReadingEagle |date=2020-04-08 |title=Remnants of 'blue laws' linger throughout U.S. |url=https://www.readingeagle.com/2020/04/08/remnants-of-blue-laws-linger-throughout-us/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Reading Eagle |language=en-US}}</ref>

===== Since 1994 =====
The [[Sunday Trading Act 1994]] relaxed restrictions on Sunday trading. This produced vocal opposition from bodies such as the [[Keep Sunday Special]] campaign, and the [[Lord's Day Observance Society]]: on religious grounds, on the grounds that it would increase consumerism, and that it would reduce shop assistants' weekend leisure time.

The legislation permits large shops (those with a relevant floor area in excess of 280 square metres; 3000 sq. ft.) to open for up to six hours on Sunday. Small shops, those with an area of below 280 square metres (3000 sq. ft.), are free to set their own Sunday trading times. Some large shops, such as [[Off-licence|off-licences]], service stations and garages, are exempt from the restrictions.

Some very large shops (e.g. department stores) open for longer than six hours on a Sunday by allowing customers in to browse 30 minutes prior to allowing them to make a purchase, since the six-hour restriction only applies to time during which the shop may make sales.

Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are non-trading days. This applies even to garden centres, which earlier had been trading over Easter, but not to small shops (those with an area of below 280 square metres; 3000 sq. ft.).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/trading-hours-for-retailers-the-law|title=Trading hours for retailers: the law|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref>

==== Netherlands ====
{{See also|Sunday shopping#Netherlands}}

Prior to 1996, shops were generally closed on Sundays. A new law ({{Interlanguage link|store time law|nl|Winkeltijdenwet}}) regarding opening times changed that and leaves that decision mostly up to local municipalities. This law was changed several times since. 

The ''Zondagswet''<ref name="zondagswet">{{Cite web|url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0002120/1994-04-01|title=Zondagswet|date=April 1, 1994|access-date=September 29, 2021|website=Wetten.nl|publisher=Dutch government|language=nl}}</ref> (“{{Interlanguage link|Sunday law (in the Netherlands)|nl|Zondagswet}}”), a law on [[Sabbath desecration]], is mainly to ensure that church services remain undisturbed on Sundays and Christian holidays. It forbids public festivities on a Sunday before 13:00, as well as making noise that carries farther than {{convert|200|m|yard}}, but activities that are unlikely to disturb church services are exempt.

==== Northern Ireland ====
Prior to 2008, [[Sunday football in Northern Ireland|no football was permitted to be played on Sundays]] by clubs affiliated to the [[Irish Football Association]] in Northern Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/sep/02/northernireland.northernireland|title=New bid for Sunday football|author=Henry McDonald|work=The Guardian|date=September 2007|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref>

Shops with a floor area of over {{Convert|280|m2}} may only open from 1 to 6pm on Sundays.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/seasonal-and-sunday-trading|title=Seasonal and Sunday Trading|access-date=March 10, 2016}}</ref>

In [[Belfast]], public playgrounds were closed on Sundays until 1965. [[Swing (seat)|Swings]] in public parks were tied up and padlocked to prevent their use.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/category/society/2015/0308/685176-belfast-children-allowed-to-use-swings-on-sunday/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815015959/https://www.rte.ie//archives/category/society/2015/0308/685176-belfast-children-allowed-to-use-swings-on-sunday/ |archive-date=August 15, 2015 |title=Belfast Children Allowed To Use Swings On Sunday|publisher=[[RTÉ]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/mar/25/features11.g27 |title=The banned played on|first=Nick|last=Ross |date=March 25, 1999|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] }}</ref> Similar laws formerly applied to cinemas, pubs and parks.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8068342.stm|title=Never on a Sunday? Not any more|date=May 27, 2009|work=[[BBC News]] }}</ref>

==== Poland ====
{{See also|Sunday shopping#Poland}}

Since 2007, blue laws were enacted and resulted in stores closing on the [[Public holidays in Poland|13 state holidays]] in [[Poland]] – these are both religious and secular days of rest. In 2014, an initiative by the [[Law and Justice]] party failed to pass the reading in the [[Sejm]] to ban trading on Sundays and state holidays. However, since 2018, the ruling government and the President of Poland has signed a law that restricts store trading from March 1, 2018, to the first and last Sunday of the month, [[Palm Sunday]], the 3rd and 4th [[Advent]] Sundays, as well as trading until 14.00 for [[Easter Saturday]] and Christmas Eve. 

In 2019, the restriction was extended, and trading was permitted solely on the last Sunday of the month, as well as [[Palm Sunday]], the 3rd and 4th [[Advent]] Sundays, as well as trading until 14.00 for [[Easter Saturday]] and Christmas Eve.  From 2020, stores may only be open on seven Sundays in the year: [[Palm Sunday]], the 3rd and 4th [[Advent]] Sundays, the last Sunday of January, April, June and August as well as trading until 14.00 for [[Easter Saturday]] and Christmas Eve.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/ap-poland-limits-sunday-shopping-to-benefit-family-life-2018-1|title=Poland limits Sunday shopping to benefit family life|magazine=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=January 30, 2018}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> As a result of restrictions in connection with the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the 2nd Advent Sunday was later added as a shopping day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2020/12/04/polands-sunday-trading-ban-lifted-ahead-of-christmas-due-to-pandemic/|title=Poland's Sunday trading ban lifted ahead of Christmas due to pandemic|website=Notes from Poland|date=December 4, 2020|access-date=January 2, 2021}}</ref>

=== North America ===
==== Canada ====
[[File:Ontario Sunday Laws.jpg|thumb|right|Sunday laws in Ontario, 1911]]

The ''[[Lord's Day Act (Canada)|Lord's Day Act]]'', which since 1906 had prohibited business transactions from taking place on Sundays, was declared 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1985/1985canlii69/1985canlii69.html |title=CanLII – 1985 CanLII 69 (S.C.C.) |publisher=Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII.org) |date=September 3, 2009 |access-date=September 24, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509175904/http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1985/1985canlii69/1985canlii69.html |archive-date=May 9, 2011  }}</ref>

A Toronto referendum in 1950 allowed only team sports to be played professionally on Sunday. Theatre performances, movie screenings, and horse racing were not permitted until the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/allan-levine-never-mind-ford-nation-hogtown-has-a-long-history-of-drunks-tyrants-and-loudmouths-running-city-hall|title=Allan Levine: Never mind Ford Nation. Hogtown has a long history of drunks, tyrants and loudmouths running City Hall|access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref>

The Supreme 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. Nonetheless, as of today, virtually all provincial Sunday closing laws have ceased to exist. Some were struck down by provincial courts, but most were simply abrogated,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Raynault-Ollu |first1=Louis-Philippe |title=Sunday Observance Laws in North America |journal=SSRN Working Paper Series |date=2012 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2260582 |language=en |issn=1556-5068|ssrn=2260582}}</ref> often due to competitive reasons where out-of-province or foreign merchants were open.

==== United States ====
{{Main|Blue laws in the United States}}

In the United States, judges have defended blue laws "in terms of their secular benefit to workers", holding that "the laws were essential to social well-being".<ref name="Smith2003"/> In 1896, Supreme Court Justice [[Stephen Johnson Field]], opined with regard to Sunday blue laws:<ref name="Smith2003">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Christian|title=The Secular Revolution: Power, Interests, and Conflict in the Secularization of American Public Life|year=2003|publisher=University of California Press|language=en |isbn=9780520230002|page=319}}</ref>

{{Quote|Its requirement is a cessation from labor. In its enactment, the legislature has given the sanction of law to a rule of conduct, which the entire civilized world recognizes as essential to the physical and moral well-being of society. Upon no subject is there such a concurrence of opinion, among philosophers, moralists and statesmen of all nations, as on the necessity of periodical cessation from labor. One day in seven is the rule, founded in experience and sustained by science.&nbsp;... The prohibition of secular business on Sunday is advocated on the ground that by it the general welfare is advanced, labor protected, and the moral and physical well-being of society promoted.|''Hennington v. Georgia'', 163 U.S. 299 (1896)<ref>''Hennington v. Georgia'', {{Ussc|163|299|1896}}.</ref>}}

Many states prohibit selling [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] for on and off-premises sales in one form or another on Sundays at some restricted time, under the idea that people should be in church on Sunday morning, or at least not drinking.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/Controversies/Alcohol-Blue-Laws.html|title=Alcohol Blue Laws (Laws Prohibiting Sunday Sales of Alcoholic Beverages)|last=Ph.D.|first=David J. Hanson|date=February 19, 2014|language=en-US|access-date=September 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goupstate.com/news/20160924/gaffney-churches-seek-to-stop-sunday-alcohol-sales|title=Gaffney churches seek to stop Sunday alcohol sales|last=Montgomery|first=Bob|access-date=September 28, 2016}}</ref>

Many blue laws in the United States restrict the purchase of particular items on Sundays. Some of these laws restrict the ability to buy cars, groceries, office supplies, and housewares among other things. Though most of these laws have been relaxed or repealed in most states, they are still enforced in some other states.

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 [[Charles County, Maryland|Charles]], [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's]], [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery]], and [[Howard County, Maryland|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.<ref>[http://wcco.com/consumer/local_story_324235359.html Good Question: Why Can't We Buy Alcohol On Sunday?], [[WCCO-TV]], November 20, 2006  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929084311/http://wcco.com/consumer/local_story_324235359.html |date=September 29, 2007 }}</ref>

Blue laws may also prohibit retail activity on days other than Sunday. In [[Massachusetts]],<ref>[https://www.mass.gov/guides/working-on-sundays-and-holidays-blue-laws Working on Sundays and Holidays ("Blue Laws")]</ref> [[Rhode Island]], and [[Maine]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/17/title17sec3204.html|title=Title 17, §3204: Business, traveling or recreation on Sunday|access-date=January 27, 2016}}</ref> for example, blue laws prohibit most retail stores, including grocery stores, from opening on [[Thanksgiving]] and Christmas.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/11/25/a_turkey_of_a_blue_law/ "A turkey of a blue law"], ''[[The Boston Globe]]''. Retrieved November 25, 2006.</ref>

Research regarding the effect of the repeal of blue laws has been conducted, with Professor Elesha Coffman of [[Baylor University]] writing:<ref name="Coffman2009">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2009/february/bye-bye-blue-laws.html|title=Bye-Bye, Blue Laws?|last=Coffman|first=Elesha|year=2009|magazine=[[Christianity Today]]|language=en|access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref>
{{Quote|Regarding culture, the impact of vanishing blue laws could be larger. A study in New Mexico in 2006 found a sharp increase in drunken driving on Sundays after that state dropped its Sunday ban on packaged alcohol sales. A broader study published by MIT and Notre Dame economists in 2008 found that the repeal of blue laws led to decreased church attendance, decreased donations to churches, and increased alcohol and drug use among religious individuals. These wide-ranging effects cannot easily be pinpointed to specific causes, but one of the latter study's authors, Daniel Hungerman, suggested to ''[[Christianity Today]]'' that blue laws might have been fulfilling their original intent, to keep people pious.<ref name="Coffman2009"/>}}

===== Court cases =====
Beginning in the mid-19th century, religious and ethno-cultural minorities arrested for violating state and local blue laws appealed their convictions to state supreme courts. In ''Specht v. Commonwealth'' (Pa. 1848), for example, German [[Seventh Day Baptists]] in Pennsylvania employed attorney [[Thaddeus Stevens]] to challenge the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's Sunday law.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Specht v. Commonwealth |vol=8 |reporter=Pa. |opinion=312 |court=Penn. |date=1848 |access-date=September 22, 2019}}.</ref> As in cases in other states, litigants pointed to the provisions of state constitutions protecting religious liberty and maintained that Sunday laws were a blatant violation. Though typically unsuccessful (most state supreme courts upheld the constitutionality of Sunday laws), these constitutional challenges helped set a pattern by which subsequent minorities would seek to protect religious freedom and minority rights.<ref>Kyle G. Volk, ''Moral Minorities and the Making of American Democracy'' (Oxford, 2014), 59-68, 190-201.</ref>

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]].<ref>''[[McGowan v. Maryland]]'', {{Ussc|366|420|1961}}.</ref> It approved the state's blue law restricting commercial activities on Sunday, noting that while such laws originated to encourage [[church attendance|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.<ref>''McGowan'', {{Ussc|366|420|1961|pin=445}} "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."</ref>

''McGowan'' was but one of four Sunday closing cases decided together by the Court in May 1961. In ''[[Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Mass., Inc.]]'',<ref>''[[Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Mass., Inc.]]'', {{Ussc|366|617|1961}}.</ref> the Court ruled against a Kosher deli that closed on Saturday but was open on Sunday.  The other two cases were ''[[Braunfeld v. Brown]]'',<ref>''[[Braunfeld v. Brown]]'', {{ussc|366|599|1961}}.</ref> and ''[[Two Guys from Harrison-Allentown, Inc. v. McGinley]]''.<ref>''Two Guys from Harrison vs. McGinley'', {{ussc|366|582|1961}}.</ref><ref>[http://worldincrisis.org/NSLC/NSLC-9.htm The LANDMARK Cases], National Sunday Law Crisis. Retrieved May 21, 2008.</ref> Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]] declared that "the State seeks to set one day apart from all others as a day of rest, repose, recreation and tranquility--a day which all members of the family and community have the opportunity to spend and enjoy together, a day on which there exists relative quiet and disassociation from the everyday intensity of commercial activities, a day on which people may visit friends and relatives who are not available during working days".<ref name="Goldberg2000"/>

In March 2006, Texas judges upheld the state blue law that requires car dealerships to close either Saturday or Sunday each weekend.<ref name="kvia.com">[http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=4669315 "'Blue Law' for car sales upheld by Judge"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531032841/http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=4669315 |date=May 31, 2008 }}, [[KVIA-TV|KVIA]], March 22, 2006. Retrieved 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."</ref>

=== Oceania ===
==== Cook Islands and Niue ====
Blue laws also exist in the Polynesian islands of [[Cook Islands]] and [[Niue]]. In the Cook Islands, these were the first written legislation, enacted by the [[London Missionary Society]] in 1827, with the consent of the ''[[Aliʻi|ariki]]'' (chiefs). Laws in Niue ban certain activities on Sunday, reflecting [[history of Niue|the country's history]] of observing the Christian Sabbath tradition.

==== Tonga ====
In the [[Tonga|Kingdom of Tonga]], the [[Vavaʻu Code]] (1839) was a form of blue law inspired by the teachings of [[Methodism|Methodist]] [[missionary|missionaries]]. With the inauguration of the [[Constitution of Tonga|Tongan Constitution]] on June 4, 1875, the sixth clause stipulates: "The Sabbath Day shall be kept holy in Tonga and no person shall practise his trade or profession or conduct any commercial undertaking on the Sabbath Day except according to law; and any agreement made or witnessed on that day shall be null and void and of no legal effect."

== See also ==
* [[Desuetude]]
* [[Dry county]]
* [[Neo-prohibitionism]]
* [[Raines law]]
* [[Religious law]]
* [[Sunday shopping]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* Algeo, Matthew (2006). ''Last Team Standing''. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. {{ISBN|978-0-306-81472-3}}
* Ruck, Rob; with Patterson, Maggie Jones and Weber, Michael P. (2010). ''Rooney: A Sporting Life''. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8032-2283-0}}
* Sarna, Jonathan D. and Dalin, David G. (1997). ''Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience''. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press. {{ISBN|978-0-2680-1654-8}}
* Volk, Kyle G. (2014). ''Minorities and the Making of American Democracy''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|019937192X}}.
* Westcott, Rich (2001). ''A Century of Philadelphia Sports''. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. {{ISBN|978-1-56639-861-9}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170120172630/https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay Red, White, but Mostly Blue: The Validity of Modern Sunday Closing Laws Under the Establishment Clause - Vanderbilt Law Review (2007)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141229161527/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/B/BL014.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Blue Laws]
* [http://www.mass.gov/lwd/labor-standards/dls/mass-blue-laws/ The Massachusetts Blue Laws]
* [http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/sunday-movies-come-to-bloomington-in/article_27ea9b0c-a481-11e2-889a-001a4bcf887a.html Blue Law - Pantagraph] (Bloomington, Illinois newspaper)

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[[Category:Political terminology of the United States]]
[[Category:Religion and law]]
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[[Category:Sabbath in Christianity]]
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[[Category:Sabbatarianism]]