Colorado Blue Law
First enacted in New England during the 17th century, "blue laws" were passed to restrict certain activities considered licentious or immoral. Since the Prohibition era, the majority of states enacted blue laws to preserve Sunday as the day of worship by prohibiting liquor sales on Sundays. In recent years, most states have repealed their blue laws as a response to citizen pressure. In 2008, Colorado became the 35th state to repeal its blue law.
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History
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Strict Puritan religious beliefs led Connecticut Governor Theophilus Eaton and John Cotton, a Puritan minister, to create a set of laws restricting behavior on the Sabbath that they considered to be morally offensive, such as drinking and gambling. Other New England colonies followed suit and adopted similar statutes reserving Sundays as a day of worship.
It is unclear as to how the prohibitive statutes earned their nickname. Some historians believe the laws were nicknamed "blue law" because of the blue paper they were originally printed on, but others believe "blue" was the term used to describe a set of Puritanical rules. In any case, these statutes became increasingly popular over the next few centuries in a majority of states. In 1933, immediately following the Prohibition, Colorado enacted its own blue law.
Function
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Blue law states restrict certain types of commercial activities on Sundays, such as the sale of alcohol. Also known as "Sunday closing laws," many people began to view these laws as antiquated remnants of strictly religious Puritan New England. Popular opposition led to citizens of many blue law states successfully petitioning for its repeal.
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Features
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Throughout the years, people have challenged blue laws on the basis of religious freedom and other constitutional protections. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld these laws, reasoning that even though these laws were historically based upon Puritanical religious beliefs, so long as these blue laws were not wholly based upon religious purposes, then constitutional rights have not been infringed.
Benefits
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As a response to the recession of 2007-2009, many liquor store owners in blue law states began placing pressure upon their local government to repeal these laws. Those opposed to its repeal included Colorado's grocery and convenience store owners who feared a significant revenue reduction. The owners claimed that allowing the sale of alcohol on Sundays would provide liquor store owners with an unfair commercial advantage over them, reducing their sale of beer. The owners further argued that repealing the blue law allowed liquor store owners to have a type of "monopoly" on the sale of liquor.
However, Colorado politicians quickly realized that repealing these laws would allow these liquor stores to capture an extra day of revenue, and in turn, state governments would receive additional revenue from liquor sales taxes, thereby effectively reducing their budget deficits.
Effects
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In 2008, Colorado became the 35th state to repeal its restriction on Sunday liquor sales. Now, Colorado liquor store owners can stay open on Sundays, and citizens may purchase alcohol on Sundays. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter officially signed his state's bill into effect, repealing the decades-old blue law. The new law took effect on July 1, 2008.
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- Photo Credit Liquor store neon sigh image by aideenm from Fotolia.com
