Introduction
Blue laws, or Sunday laws, are laws that limit commercial and entertainment activities on a certain day, typically Sunday, for religious observance and rest. Most often, blue laws bar the sale or purchase of alcohol. Though blue laws have a historically religious basis, therefore raising constitutional concerns under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, they were upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of McGowan v. Maryland. The Court’s decision left the implementation and enactment of blue laws to each state.
While most blue laws have been repealed in the country after the American War of Independence (1775-1783), there are still many states that have stricter regulations on alcohol and car sales on Sundays. Conversely, only five states (Montana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia) outlaw the sale of hard liquor. To add, ten states do not have state-wide blue laws, but allow each county to decide for itself.
Learn for yourself how blue laws change by state by investigating the data in the charts.
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