The Blue Law Blues
By George Anderson
Howard Troxler, columnist, St. Petersburg Times says Florida’s prohibition against selling alcohol before 1:00 PM on Sunday is “the most arbitrary of tyrannies.”
Mr. Troxler argues that laws such as that in Florida deny “freedom to the citizens by the government.” He adds, “It is worse than that, of course. It is a blue law foisted upon the citizens by churches, and by Christian churches at that. If we really wanted to do some good by banning alcohol sales on the ‘Sabbath,’ we would take the Jewish version, from sundown Friday till sundown Saturday.”
Moderator’s Comment: Are blue laws justified in today’s
society?
Consumers can practice self-restraint (or not) when it
comes to purchasing anything from cheesecake to alcoholic beverages. Legislating
that it is illegal to sell a product one-minute and then legal the next is beyond
our ability to understand.
We do, however, know many store workers love the idea
of having Sundays off. [George
Anderson – Moderator]