NOw open 7 days a week!

Prohibition ended 75 years ago, yet some remnants of this historical mistake have lived on. I am referring to what are known as “Blue Laws.” “Blue Laws” vary from state to state; here in Colorado “Blue Laws” prohibit alcohol sales on Sunday. That all ends tomorrow, and as someone who has alcoholic tendencies, I couldn’t be more stoked.“Blue Laws”, much like sexual repression, are a product of the Puritan heritage and image that created this country. Designed to enforce moral standards, most “Blue Laws” are devised with the intention of keeping Sunday, the Sabbath, a day of rest.While these may have been a good idea years ago when religious diversity was non-existent, most of these laws seem ludicrous in modern society, where a large portion of the country is of a religion that doesn’t observe Sunday as the Sabbath, or isn’t religious and thusly doesn’t have a Sabbath.

Despite this fact many states still have stronger “Blue Laws” than Colorado.For example, there is a borough in New Jersey that brings in more retail sales than any other zip code in the U.S. Yet they have a “Blue Law”, to quote Wikipedia, “forbidding all forms of ‘worldly employment’ on Sunday.” Sure here we couldn’t buy booze, but there they can’t buy anything. Oh how I would have loved to work there when I was in retail hell.Since I am apparently a heathen, at least according to people that attended the church I used to go to, “Blue Laws” don’t make much sense to me, and kind of piss me off. Real laws I understand. Laws designed to protect you and other people, not laws created to appease a being that not everyone believes in.

In the past, when I would go to my fridge for beer on a Sunday, and I was out, I had three options, none of which were that appealing. Option number one would be to go without beer, what am I straight edge? Option two would be beer from the grocery store with alcohol content of 3.2, which means I’d have to drink more to get the desired effect, and trust me I don’t need that. Or option three would be hit up a bar, which could be ok if I found someone to go with me, otherwise I’m some pathet-a-sad loser drinking alone on a Sunday. Sure that’s what I’d be at home, but nobody can see me do that at home.

Ronery, so ronery

Now with liquor stores open on Sundays I don’t have to worry about these scenarios if I forget to make that mad dash for fire water at 11:55 Saturday night.So a big thank you to Governor Bill Ritter and the state legislators for repealing the “Blue Laws.” As I enjoy the beer I but tomorrow I raise the first drink in a cheers to you. Slainte! 

lee.s.hart@crujonessociety.com

cjs_final_mark.jpg