Montgomery County could lift its blue laws: Yes, please
Montgomery County is considering allowing liquor sales on Sundays. This is an excellent idea, and one that the District should consider as well.
Antiquated "blue laws" that prohibit the sale of hard liquor or other kinds of alcohol on Sundays continue to be prevalent across the United States, despite their origins in the Puritanical urge to force a religious standard on the community.
I'd certainly argue that McGowan vs. Maryland could stand another look at this point, but we needn't even go that far to correct what amounts to useless government meddling in commerce and personal behavior: Movements to repeal such bans in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York succeeded back in 2003 without much fuss, and there's no reason why D.C. area jurisdictions shouldn't do the same.
[Visit Sommer Mathis's blog, DCist, to read more.]
Sommer Mathis is editor-in-chief of DCist.com. The Local Blog Network is a group of bloggers from around the D.C. region who have agreed to make regular contributions to All Opinions Are Local.
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| April 27, 2010; 2:15 PM ET
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Posted by: bjenki1 | April 28, 2010 5:01 PM | Report abuse
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Right on! There is literally no reasonable argument to maintain a Sunday sales ban. You can already purchase alcohol on Sundays in bars & restaurants. You can already purchase alcohol on Sundays in almost every other county in Maryland (not to mention in Virginia, too). The law has long outlived its relevance; and no longer makes sense in today's economy.