Where I live you can't buy beer on Sunday..But what if I walked into the grocery....

[Roland Deschain]

store, grabbed a six pack, stood in line and then flopped down a ten (for beer that was less than ten dollars). I made the statement "here is ten dollars for the beer take it or leave it, but I'm leaving with my beer" and then proceded to walk off. What crime could they charge me with? If nothing else couldn't the store owner "hold" the money until the next day and then "ring" the sale (to prevent getting in trouble himself). I'm not a big drinker, but it seems like the only day I think about wanting beer is the very day I cannot purchase the stuff!

[Schnitte]

The beer is property of the grocery store, not yours, so I guess it would be plain old theft. Offering money for the beer you're carrying away does not automatically establish a contract between you and the store; the beer remains another person's property.

[Jotun]

I'm not a big drinker, but it seems like the only day I think about wanting beer is the very day I cannot purchase the stuff!

Hey Roland!
I'm not a big drinker either, but I can't imagine not being able to buy beer/liquor on a sunday.
What is the point of outlawing liquor sales on Sundays anyway?
Really, I wanna know.

I'm from Canada and much like Germany, beer is a big part of our culture!

Also, I assume the ban on Sunday liquor sales is to prevent people from drinking on Sundays, but if thats the case, whats to stop "Joe Drinker" from buying himself a "Sunday stash" on Friday?

[jujuju]

i am not sure what could be done to you legally, but i know of someone who has done this at a conv. store (after midnight on saturday night, to be specific). 'cept he didn't wait in line, just walked up to the counter with a 12 pack, dropped the cash, and left saying 'keep the change'. no one chased him.

damn stupid law though. you can go to a bar/restaurant and drink like a fish on sunday, but you can't take it buy it to take home? oh, that's sacred... :rolleyes:

of course, if weed were legal, i wouldn't even worry about beer.

they sould let everyone poke smot on sundays who wants to. to reflect upon the week's accomplishments. yeah. we can have meetings at my house. like church. except instead of passing the offering plate, we'll pass a bowl.

why do i feel like submitting this will kill the thread...?

[TJdude825]

What law says you can't buy beer on Sundays? I guess that law would dictate what crime you'd be charged with.

Anyway, I'd recommend buying some ahead of time, as someone said.

[I Love Me, Vol. I]

Stupid law indeed.

I used to live in a state where you couldn't buy liquor in a store on Sunday, but you could buy it in a restaurant or certain bars that served food (like jujuju said).

The only reason I could figure was that in that state (predominantly Christian) you couldn't buy stuff to take home but you COULD drive to a restaurant, get tanked then drive home drunk because God wanted you and whatever other lucky folks you could take with you to "come home to Heaven and be with Jesus."

Yea! let's support drunk driving! Yet more idiocy brought to you by religion.

[Roland Deschain]

they were written on "out East" in Conn. or someplace near there when they were first formulated. I think their history goes back to the "anti saloon" anti drinking movement which ultimately culminated in prohibition. The theory was that on Sunday you should either be in church (or if a non believer) be sober with your family. Here in my Midwestern state they have remained on the books since no politician wants to be seen as "anti morals" in what is a predominantly Christian state. These law allow liquor sales in bars IF the bar also sells a certain percentage of sales in food. In addition, car dealerships must also be closed on Sunday's for some weird, wild, reason that I don't understand.

[Markxxx]

About 20 years ago when I was a teenager I worked at a small hotel, the overnight shift. At 12 midnight I would have to put on a blocking device over the vending machine coin slot to stop people from buying candy. The town had a "blue" law against selling on Sunday. For some reason we could sell the soda pop.

The village would fine any place selling foods on Sunday. Not resturaunts just the grociers etc. It's since been changed.

[Roland Deschain]

About 20 years ago when I was a teenager I worked at a small hotel, the overnight shift. At 12 midnight I would have to put on a blocking device over the vending machine coin slot to stop people from buying candy. The town had a "blue" law against selling on Sunday. For some reason we could sell the soda pop.

The village would fine any place selling foods on Sunday. Not resturaunts just the grociers etc. It's since been changed.



That is to say that in many localities the "soda fountains" could not sell soda on Sundays. Thus, ice cream Sundays were adopted as a substitute.

[Shade]

I don't know why people still hold the sunday no alchohol thing.

But I think a store doesn't have an OBLIGATION to serve you - I'm not sure whether it should, but I'm fairly sure in UK & US it doesn't. That is, if you take something without their permission, it's theft. Regardless of what you might leave.

There was a thread once about a man who walked past the cashier with a packet of gum and dropped the price on the counter, despite the cashier shouting at him to stop. A suggested explanation was that the store wanted to scan every purchase for stocktaking. Or that the man could have had something else in his pocket, or dropped a washer. I think it was agreed that (1) the man was legally wrong, but (2) if it's a packet of gum, it's reasonable to allow.

If you steal a case of beer, they'll likely be less lenient.

[WILLASS]

In Britain you are unable to buy beer at certain times (I forget the exact times as I think they have changed recently) and the vendor could forfeit his booze licence if he sells alcohol at these forbidden times. The only way around this is to stash beer for these occasions which I regularly do as, like you, I often have a yen for beer on a Sunday but not so often any other time. I still don't understand the rationale behind these laws but find it annoying that they exist, as they seem nonsensical to me. It has to be said though that a lot of shops seem to turn a blind eye to this rule as I discovered in Bristol, saying that, licensing laws seemed to be disregarded altogether where I lived as there were three pubs that were open 24/7 and were never closed down.

[samclem]

http://www.word-detective.com/051600.html#bluelaws

The "blue paper" theory is probably bunk.

[ivylass]

It's a local thing. The next town over you can't buy beer before noon on Sundays.

I always wondered at the logic of that. Say I walk into the store at 11am, do my shopping leisurely, and hit the register at 11:45a. Sorry, no wine. But if I'd spent a couple of extra minutes checking out the nail polish selections, or perusing the fresh donuts and cupcakes, and hit the register at 12:01p, I could buy as much wine as I wanted.

Go figure.

[Kneepants Erasmus, the Humanist]

While I was in High School, I worked at a pharmacy/grocery thingie. In TN you can't buy beer until noon on Sunday. At 11 we would have the drunks lining up. Maybe I am an evil bitch, but I found this amusing. We were not to allow ANYONE to buy beer until EXACTLY noon. So if someone had a shopping cart full of cereal and milk, and they also had a six pack....they would have to wait. The customer would get pissed off....nevermind the fact that I am sure they knew better.

[HeyHomie]

If I walked up to someone's house and took a shine to their car, I can't just leave $20,000 on their doorstep and tow their car away. I'd be charged with theft, regardless of the fact that I tried to pay them.

Same thing in the situation described in the OP. Since the store can't legally sell the beer on Sunday, by taking it from the store you're guilty of theft. If the store had taken your money, they would be guilty of violating your city's ordinance.

IANAL

[Una Persson]

store, grabbed a six pack, stood in line and then flopped down a ten (for beer that was less than ten dollars). I made the statement "here is ten dollars for the beer take it or leave it, but I'm leaving with my beer" and then proceded to walk off. What crime could they charge me with? If nothing else couldn't the store owner "hold" the money until the next day and then "ring" the sale (to prevent getting in trouble himself). I'm not a big drinker, but it seems like the only day I think about wanting beer is the very day I cannot purchase the stuff!
You might be drinking a bit too much nonetheless if you think you'ld get away with that. ;) The store is legally bound not to sell you alcohol under the laws of the State, County, City, or other controlling legal authority. They would call the police and turn you in, and you would get a misdemeanor charge over something pretty silly.

In other words - because they can't legally sell you the alcohol, they cannot engage in a legal transaction. And if they take no active or negligent part in making an illegal transaction, but you take that on yourself, then then was never any transaction, and thus you have walked out with goods obtained illegally.

Consider this thought experiment: You're 20 years and 364 days old. It's 11:00PM and on a Tuesday. You're going to be 21 in 1 hour. You walk in, grab your case of Duff Blue ("taste the peppermint glacier!") and walk past the cashier tossing a $5 and saying "hold it for an hour and then keep the change". A legal sale could not have been made at that point, and as silly as the 1-hour gap between legal and illegal is, you've just stolen that case.

Remember, in these cases your real beef is with the State or other authority that made the laws, not the store. The store has to abide by the liquor laws or risk having its license to sell alcohol voided.

[KSO]

they were written on "out East" in Conn. or someplace near there when they were first formulated. I think their history goes back to the "anti saloon" anti drinking movement which ultimately culminated in prohibition. The theory was that on Sunday you should either be in church (or if a non believer) be sober with your family. Here in my Midwestern state they have remained on the books since no politician wants to be seen as "anti morals" in what is a predominantly Christian state. These law allow liquor sales in bars IF the bar also sells a certain percentage of sales in food. In addition, car dealerships must also be closed on Sunday's for some weird, wild, reason that I don't understand.

I live in CT. You can drink all you want in bars on Sundays but the package stores are closed and grocery stores don't sell beer. Also, liquor sales end at 9:00 p.m.(at least, I think it's 9:00--I don't drink--it used to be 8:00 p.m.). Originally, these were the "blue laws." At some point, liquor stores could stay open late, then, in the early 70s, there was a string of armed robberies of liquor stores and the owners got together to have 8:00 be the cut-off. They got a law passed to protect themselves against grocery stores selling past 8:00. I'm not sure why it went to 9:00 but apparently it doesn't have much effect on sales.

I believe the car dealerships in CT are all voluntarily closed on Sundays--they want the day off--but it's not mandated by law.

[CheekyMonkey613]

Can you even get it out of the fridge? In Montreal, we have a lockdown. From 11pm 'til 8am. The beer fridges are locked. Are you sure you can even access the booze on Sundays?

BTW... We used to have the same law here. It used to be that you couldn't even return bottles on a Sunday, even if you didn't want to exchange them for beer.

[F. U. Shakespeare]

It's not just spineless politicians...

I once had to travel for work to a dry county in the south.

I got talking one night to the motel clerk, who related that when proposals to lift the ban would come up on the ballot every few years, there would always be lots of local TV ads opposed to lifting the ban, and it always stayed in place.

Who paid for these ads?

The owners of package stores just outside the county, who apparently sold a lot of booze to residents of this 'dry' county.

[BiblioCat]

I live in CT. You can drink all you want in bars on Sundays but the package stores are closed and grocery stores don't sell beer. Also, liquor sales end at 9:00 p.m.(at least, I think it's 9:00--I don't drink--it used to be 8:00 p.m.).
I'm in Baltimore, MD, and we can't even buy beer or wine in the grocery stores any time - it's all sold in liquor stores, except on Sundays. You can get booze on Sundays from certain bars that have package stores attached. I think there are certain hours, though, 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.

You just have to plan ahead and buy your beer on Saturday.

[Black Train Song]

In PA you can buy up to two six-packs at a time on Sundays from take-out stores or bars that also sell food. Beer distributers are closed though, weird.
And now I believe Liquor stores (state controlled) are open on Sundays too but they don't sell beer.

I never did get the thing about car dealerships.

I do remember when I was a kid that at the Jersey shore you weren't allowed to buy stuff like beach balls (or anything fun) on Sundays.

[aldiboronti]

As to blue laws, nothing to do with the colour of paper, so it would seem.

This is from the Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com/051600.html)

"The term "blue laws" seems to have been invented by Reverend Samuel Peters, a pro-British American clergyman whose "General History of Connecticut," published in 1781, set out to paint the colonists as religious fanatics. Although popular legend maintains that the term "blue laws" arose because the laws themselves were printed on blue paper, Peters himself explained that by "blue" he meant "bloody," i.e., enforced by whipping, maiming and death."

[Mathochist]

I'm in Baltimore, MD, and we can't even buy beer or wine in the grocery stores any time - it's all sold in liquor stores, except on Sundays. You can get booze on Sundays from certain bars that have package stores attached. I think there are certain hours, though, 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.

You just have to plan ahead and buy your beer on Saturday.

I used to live in College Park, MD. I know people used to run over to Town Hall (a bar + liquor store) on Sundays for the liquor store half, not the bar half. Maybe there are local laws in Baltimore that don't apply in the rest of the state.

[ParentalAdvisory]

That really isn't that bad. I live next to a town that was completely dry up until 2 years ago when Applebee's International came into town and fed the trustees hookers. Now alcohol is sold everywhere in the town.

[SmackFu]

Around here in Connecticut, the beer shelves at the grocery stores are actually locked off behind a cover on Sundays. No cold beer either. So the OP's plan wouldn't get far.

[CaveMike]

That really isn't that bad. I live next to a town that was completely dry up until 2 years ago when Applebee's International came into town and fed the trustees hookers. Now alcohol is sold everywhere in the town.Which town is that PA? And I assume they have an Applebees now too?

[mike1dog]

We have the same law here. Just last week I was standing in a line in the grocery store at just before midnight, and when the person just in front of me tried to buy some beer, the clerk told her that since her register showed it was after midnight, he couldn't sell her the beer. This city has a law that I've never heard of anywhere else, and that is you can't sell beer cold. It has to be hot. It also was once the law here that you couldn't buy beer, but you could buy wine and hard liquor. In Mississippi, the state has a monopoly on wine and hard liquor. They buy it then resell it to liquor stores. It's illegal to them to buy from any other source. Just recently when the state was upgrading its computers they were unable to ship any for a couple of weeks. I heard several stores ran out of almost everything. On another note, when the whole state was dry, the state still collected taxes on liquor and the tax collector(who was paid by how much taxes he collected), was the highest paid public official in the country including the president. This was in the 30's if I remember correctly.

[Master Wang-Ka]

When I was in college, I once worked at a convenience store for a couple months. The town had ordinances against the sale of alcohol after midnight (2 a.m on Saturday night/Sunday morning), and another ordinance prohibiting the sale of beer on Sundays between two a.m. and twelve noon.

The other clerks and I hated working shifts that encompassed this time frame, and we would bargain like fiends with each other to avoid having to do so. I often worked this schedule, because I needed the money, and others were willing to bribe me to do it.

The reason we hated it was that you encountered MANY persons who did not like the situation, and attempted to circumvent it in any way possible, or simply argued, or took it out on the hapless clerk (who did not make the laws, did not agree with them, and was in no position to do anything about it). It was certainly an education; I had no idea so many persons could get so worked up over the lack of beer in the house at nine a.m. of a Sunday morning. Sad, really...

The way it worked was this: if I took the money, or implied to the customer that the sale was legitimate, in the "illegal" time frames, then I was party to a crime. Technically, so was the customer, but the cops weren't real interested in chasing HIM down. They'd bust the clerk, and a fine would be levied.

I wasn't interested in this, and I told every customer who tried it. No, I am not interested in committing a crime, I am not interested in paying any fines. No, I cannot take your money. No, offering me three times what we're charging for that sixpack will not tempt me. No, no, no, no, no.

On several occasions, I encountered the exact situation in the OP, in two permutations:

1. "Hey, what if I just drop this fiver on the counter, and walk out with this beer? You aren't really selling it to me, right?"

Answer: If I do not try to inform you of the situation, or if I take your money, I am party to a crime. If you simply abandon the money and leave with the beer, I am required to call the cops, show them the fiver, give them the security tape from the camera, and set them to catching YOU for shoplifting. The fiver you left on the counter is totally irrelevant, and I have to do all this to keep the cops from going after MY butt, thank you very much.

So, technically, no, I'm not really selling you the beer. You are stealing it.

The money you dropped is irrelevant, and I don't get any of it. And before you go on about how no one will ever know, I should point out that the cops in this town bore easily, and have been known to pull sting operations, once in this very convenience store. So, no sir, I am not interested in risking losing my job and paying hundreds of dollars in fines. I do not feel like taking large gambles just so you can have beer, unless you are prepared to bribe me with many thousands of dollars, so that losing my job and/or paying stiff fines would be irrelevant to me."

2. (Person says nothing, drops money on counter, and storms out the door with beer, ignoring cries from clerk).

Answer: See previous answer.

[BiblioCat]

I used to live in College Park, MD. I know people used to run over to Town Hall (a bar + liquor store) on Sundays for the liquor store half, not the bar half. Maybe there are local laws in Baltimore that don't apply in the rest of the state.It's Baltimore County. They just don't sell beer and wine in grocery stores or convenience stores here. Gotta get it all at liquor stores or package stores. Other counties sell it in grocery stores.
I've heard stories of people who move here from out-of-state and make that first grocery store trip and wander around looking for the Beer Aisle. :D Sorry, there isn't one!

[danceswithcats]

The goofiness of these laws has always amused me, too. Purchase of beer at the 7-11 in VA on a Sunday is permissible, but not until after noon in MD, and only from a bar in PA.

PA experimented with Sunday sales from State Stores, Rooves but none of the stores around here are open on Sundays any more. The carry-out limit for beer in PA is 192 oz., IIRC. That would be 2 six-packs of pounders. Oddly enough, you can buy two sixes of 16oz. beer, walk out of the establishment, put them in your vehicle, and re-enter to purchase another two.

Ocean City, NJ is still dry, and prohibits purchase of numerous items on Sundays.

Go figure :confused:

[danceswithcats]

My bad, Bibliocat. The previous post referred to Frederick County. I should have remembered that MD handles sales on a County basis, as does NJ.

[MsRobyn]

The goofiness of these laws has always amused me, too. Purchase of beer at the 7-11 in VA on a Sunday is permissible, but not until after noon in MD, and only from a bar in PA.

PA experimented with Sunday sales from State Stores, Rooves but none of the stores around here are open on Sundays any more. The carry-out limit for beer in PA is 192 oz., IIRC. That would be 2 six-packs of pounders. Oddly enough, you can buy two sixes of 16oz. beer, walk out of the establishment, put them in your vehicle, and re-enter to purchase another two.

Ocean City, NJ is still dry, and prohibits purchase of numerous items on Sundays.

Go figure :confused:

[hijack]
Oh, man. You haven't seen any of the propaganda that comes from some organization that blames all of Penn State's problems on the fact that there's a liquor store in Centre County.

Robin

[Munch]

Speaking as a fellow Hoosier, I'd imagine the store owner would yell at you for not knowing you could go next door to the tavern and buy a to-go bag.

[Mathochist]

It's Baltimore County. They just don't sell beer and wine in grocery stores or convenience stores here. Gotta get it all at liquor stores or package stores. Other counties sell it in grocery stores.
I've heard stories of people who move here from out-of-state and make that first grocery store trip and wander around looking for the Beer Aisle. :D Sorry, there isn't one!

Well, I don't think it's available at the supermarket in Howard or Prince Georges Counties. I grew up in one and went to college in the other. I remember visiting friends in VA for New Year's Eve one time and was confused when they suggested going to Giant for champagne. Liquor at a grocery store? Weird.

I'm still confused these days, but more because there's no way you'll find a decent (if even a real) champagne at Giant.

[miamouse]

Liquor at a grocery store? Weird.

I thought this too, the first time we vacationed in VA, but then I thought. WAY cool! I don't need to go to another store just to buy wine for dinner! :cool:

[jayjay]

[hijack]
Oh, man. You haven't seen any of the propaganda that comes from some organization that blames all of Penn State's problems on the fact that there's a liquor store in Centre County.

Robin

Pfft. The liquor store's the least of Centre County's problems...

[jayjay]

Heh. I remember a few months after I moved down to Lancaster (from another Pennsylvania town), I was in the Giant shopping when I saw two older gentlemen looking hopelessly lost. I happened to overhear one of them saying "They hid the beer good here," and stopped and said, "You're not from Pennsylvania, are you?"

I explained to them that grocery stores aren't allowed to sell beer or liquor in PA and directed them to a beer distributor down the road.

I was massively amused...

[Roland Deschain]

p 246 (one of the few times I've got this book out all semester and I still have an A in the class) " These statutes, which date back to colonial times, are often called blue laws. Blue laws got their name from the blue paper on which New Haven, Connecticut printed its Sabbath law in 1781. The ordinance prohibed all work on Sunday and required all shops to close on the "Lord's Day" So if it is a legend than it is one that West has also fallen victim.

[Spezza]

The store is legally bound not to sell you alcohol under the laws of the State, County, City, or other controlling legal authority.

What about this Thought Experiment:

You are from out-of-state and already late for a party (or whatever). You grab the six-pack from an open cooler, ignorantly wait in a long line, and when you come up to the cashier you have already calculated the cost of the beer at $9.50 (w/tax) and toss a tenner at the cashier and dash out the door.

Although you have broken the law, you did so without any intent. Further, you had no reasonable way of knowing that beer wasn't for sale as it was in an open cooler beside the milk/yogurt/etc. Therefore, isn't it the stores responsibility to enforce the law by taking the beer from the cooler/counter as a product of sale every Sunday??

[jayjay]

What about this Thought Experiment:

You are from out-of-state and already late for a party (or whatever). You grab the six-pack from an open cooler, ignorantly wait in a long line, and when you come up to the cashier you have already calculated the cost of the beer at $9.50 (w/tax) and toss a tenner at the cashier and dash out the door.

Although you have broken the law, you did so without any intent. Further, you had no reasonable way of knowing that beer wasn't for sale as it was in an open cooler beside the milk/yogurt/etc. Therefore, isn't it the stores responsibility to enforce the law by taking the beer from the cooler/counter as a product of sale every Sunday??

Ignorance of the law isn't an excuse anywhere, I don't think.

[MsRobyn]

What about this Thought Experiment:

You are from out-of-state and already late for a party (or whatever). You grab the six-pack from an open cooler, ignorantly wait in a long line, and when you come up to the cashier you have already calculated the cost of the beer at $9.50 (w/tax) and toss a tenner at the cashier and dash out the door.

Although you have broken the law, you did so without any intent. Further, you had no reasonable way of knowing that beer wasn't for sale as it was in an open cooler beside the milk/yogurt/etc. Therefore, isn't it the stores responsibility to enforce the law by taking the beer from the cooler/counter as a product of sale every Sunday??

It's not.

My parents live in Texas, where it is sold in grocery stores, but not before noon on Sunday. One time when I was visiting, I went to the grocery store to pick up a six-pack of beer. It was 11:45 a.m. I couldn't buy that six-pack until noon. I'd forgotten about the time. I went to the store's cafe and drank coffee for fifteen minutes till I could buy the beer.

The cashier knew I was from out of town because I showed my (then) Minnesota license. She didn't care; the rules are the rules and I couldn't buy beer before noon. Too bad, so sad.

Robin

[vanilla]

are people so addcited to drinking that they can't wait one day?
Or even buy some on Saturday??
Thats sad.
Sunday was meant to be the Lord's day, when you think on Him, not getting drunk.

[Ashkicker]

I live in Sevier county TN. I work at a restaurant in Sevierville. I get to try to explain this situation all the time to the tourists and yet I still don't understand it. We are allowed to serve beer and wine coolers only, no liquor or wine. Pigeon Forge is the same way. Beer and wine coolers only. People say oh it's a dry county? No, not exactly. Gatlinburg you can sell liquor and wine by the drink, and they have liquor stores in which you can purchase your favorite spirit. Gatlinburg is in sevier county. But now hold on to your hat for the real clincher in all this, you can bring in your own liquor or wine in Sevierville or Pigeon Forge and I can sell you a strawberry daquiri in which you can put the rum in it yourself. Now go figure that one out. Because I still haven't. :confused:

[Roland Deschain]

are people so addcited to drinking that they can't wait one day?
Or even buy some on Saturday??
Thats sad.
Sunday was meant to be the Lord's day, when you think on Him, not getting drunk.

and man needs beer.

[ShadiRoxan]

I live in Sevier county TN. I work at a restaurant in Sevierville. I get to try to explain this situation all the time to the tourists and yet I still don't understand it. We are allowed to serve beer and wine coolers only, no liquor or wine. Pigeon Forge is the same way. Beer and wine coolers only. People say oh it's a dry county? No, not exactly. Gatlinburg you can sell liquor and wine by the drink, and they have liquor stores in which you can purchase your favorite spirit. Gatlinburg is in sevier county. But now hold on to your hat for the real clincher in all this, you can bring in your own liquor or wine in Sevierville or Pigeon Forge and I can sell you a strawberry daquiri in which you can put the rum in it yourself. Now go figure that one out. Because I still haven't. :confused:

I used to work in Pigeon Forge a few years ago. At that time restaurants still weren't allowed to sell any alcohol, but you could buy beer and wine coolers from the store. We sent a lot of business to Sevierville's Fridays because people wanted a beer with their wings. Brown bagging wasn't allowed at the time.

The reason given to me for Gatlinburg being able to sell liquor was that it was technically in the Smoky Mountains and therefore federal property. Not sure how much truth there is to that.

[jayjay]

Isn't Pigeon Forge where Dollywood is?

[Roland Deschain]

packs away on Sunday (one per person and you must be at least a semi regular customer at my store). If I was "giving" the beer away what could they do to stop me?

[Ashkicker]

I used to work in Pigeon Forge a few years ago. At that time restaurants still weren't allowed to sell any alcohol, but you could buy beer and wine coolers from the store. We sent a lot of business to Sevierville's Fridays because people wanted a beer with their wings. Brown bagging wasn't allowed at the time.

The reason given to me for Gatlinburg being able to sell liquor was that it was technically in the Smoky Mountains and therefore federal property. Not sure how much truth there is to that.

Yes, they just passed beer and wine coolers in Pigeon Forge. That is correct it used to not be. I opened that Fridays up in '97. Lasted about 3 months. I was a beertender and I hated it. Brown bagging is allowed now. I have never heard the story of the mountains being on federal property and that is the reason you can drink there.

Isn't Pigeon Forge where Dollywood is?

Yes, that is correct. They don't have beer at Dollywood though. :D

[Aceospades]

packs away on Sunday (one per person and you must be at least a semi regular customer at my store). If I was "giving" the beer away what could they do to stop me?
i don't have a cite, but i'm pretty sure there is a law agenst giving alcohol. i know here in Delaware, bars have to sell alcohol for more then they bought it for. thus, if it cost a bar $0.15 for a bottle of beer, they would, by law, have to sell it for at least $0.16 a bottle. this also explains no "buy one, get one free" sales for alcohol.

[aruvqan]

are people so addcited to drinking that they can't wait one day?
Or even buy some on Saturday??
Thats sad.
Sunday was meant to be the Lord's day, when you think on Him, not getting drunk.

I am not addicted to alcohol, I pretty much don't drink any more, but I am also *not* christian, so it isn't my day to consider your god. I just don't think it is particularly sensible to sell booze or not at any random time. If it is legal to sell in the US, then you should be able to buy it 24/7 if the storekeeper wants to be open at 0300 in the morning on sunday, it is his prerogative.

[Black Train Song]

by vanilla: are people so addcited to drinking that they can't wait one day?
Or even buy some on Saturday??
Thats sad.
Sunday was meant to be the Lord's day, when you think on Him, not getting drunk.


I can't tell if that was a joke or not. I have my fingers crossed.

[WILLASS]

I'm still confused these days, but more because there's no way you'll find a decent (if even a real) champagne at Giant.

Slight nitpick/hijack/pedantism - you will always find real Champagne as it can only be called Champagne if it is from Champagne, unless the U.S doesn't have to abide by that law........which it might not........can you call any fizzy wine in the U.S Champagne?

[vanilla]

I am not addicted to alcohol, I pretty much don't drink any more, but I am also *not* christian, so it isn't my day to consider your god. I just don't think it is particularly sensible to sell booze or not at any random time. If it is legal to sell in the US, then you should be able to buy it 24/7 if the storekeeper wants to be open at 0300 in the morning on sunday, it is his prerogative.

agreed.
However, since the laws are this way, one can think ahead and buy ahead.

[Derleth]

p 246 (one of the few times I've got this book out all semester and I still have an A in the class) " These statutes, which date back to colonial times, are often called blue laws. Blue laws got their name from the blue paper on which New Haven, Connecticut printed its Sabbath law in 1781. The ordinance prohibed all work on Sunday and required all shops to close on the "Lord's Day"I would trust a law book for law, not etymology. Anyway, the person who invented the term has already been quoted in this thread, and he made no mention of blue paper.So if it is a legend than it is one that West has also fallen victim.It would appear so.

[I Love Me, Vol. I]

agreed.
However, since the laws are this way, one can think ahead and buy ahead.Perhaps. But in many places with 'Sunday Blue Laws' if they don't plan ahead the only was they can drink is to travel (often by car) to a restaurant and drink there. Rather than encouraging drunk driving with this law, don't you think it'd make more sense to just let people buy take-out liquor on Sundays?

Unless, as I posted earlier, it's just a plan to get more people to die so they can be with Jesus sooner rather than later.

[Cheesesteak]

are people so addcited to drinking that they can't wait one day?


Sunday was meant to be the Lord's day, when you think on Him, not getting drunk.Two things. First, let's say you're planning a party for Sunday (such as for football) and want to get some supplies in the morning, so you have time to prepare. Sorry, you forgot to plan ahead, no beer or wine for you! Oh, and if you did plan ahead, drink as much as you want, that's perfectly OK, just don't buy any more alcohol.

Second, not everyone believes in the same Lord (or any Lord), not everyone believes Sunday is the Sabbath, some churches feature wine drinking during Mass, and many people's Lord's forbid them to imbibe alcohol altogether. It's a complete mish-mosh, having Sunday rules is silly and only considers one point of view.

Just as another data point, New York recently changed their laws to allow hard liquor sales on Sunday, just as long as the store closes one other day of the week :rolleyes: cause we all know that 7 straight days of liquor sales just dooms our entire society.

[Munch]

are people so addcited to drinking that they can't wait one day?
Or even buy some on Saturday??
Thats sad.
Sunday was meant to be the Lord's day, when you think on Him, not getting drunk.
It's sad that you think the only reason people drink is to get drunk. I drink every Sunday - it's called Communion.

[The Vorlon]

Strange Blue laws:

Here in the Commonwealth of Taxachusetts, we have just recently nutered our old Blue Laws.

For the longest time, the only Sundays stores could be open were between Turkey day and Xmas. Now they can be open Sundays year round, but you have to pay the help time and a half.

First it was no boose on Sunday. Then they noticed the lines of cars going over the boarders, so it was legal to sell boose if you were within 30 miles of the state line. Now, it is up to the various citys and towns.

You can find some supermarkets that are 24/7, but most go home at midnight on Saturday night. 9AM on Sunday, they reopen.

It could be worse--Bergen County, in NJ, is closed on Sunday. With the exception of 7-Eleven, TOTALY closed. :confused:

[danceswithcats]

As Quick-Draw McGraw once said, "Hold on there, Baba Looey!"

How is it that in another thread, the separation of church and state is cited as the reason for an action, but when we have constraint of commerce, by the state, apparently for religious reasons, little is being said. :confused:

No liquor on Sunday is discriminatory, as it is not the universal holy day. Why can't non-christians buy booze on their day off? :dubious:

[Celyn]

Until the 1970s. Scottish laws did not allow for the sale of alcohol on Sundays - well, they did, but only for "bona fide" travellers also having a meal, I think.

I mention that just because glancing through this thread began to remind me of a song from that time.

In case it amuses anyone else.........here it is (only a little bit of it)



Two thousand years ago there lived a man in Galilee
Toora loora loora loora lay
And he was persecuted by the local Pharisees
Toora loora loora loora lay
For on Sunday he was willing to cure the sick and ailing
Or take five thousand people out to dine
T"he Sabbath Day", said Jesus, "was surely made to please us",
And then he turned the water into wine!


by Jim McLean

http://www.mudcat.org/Detail.CFM?messages__Message_ID=798743


Incidentally, the powers that be changed the law just before Celyn became of legal drinking age. :) Nice of them. (Of course, like an idiot, I later spent time living in Dyfed in Wales, which was dry, nay, positively arid, on Sundays.)

[stockton]

are people so addcited to drinking that they can't wait one day?
Or even buy some on Saturday??
Thats sad.
Sunday was meant to be the Lord's day, when you think on Him, not getting drunk.

vanilla, you're a valued old friend so I won't accuse you of being daft or anything...

Not everyone feels the same way you do about Sunday. 'Round here, it's cookouts and football and baseball games, and the occasional car race.

It's downright stupid that I can stock up for a party on Saturday, but can't accommodate an unexpected guest the next day... UNLESS we do it at a bar or restaurant.

This is in Atlanta, GA. 12:30pm at the bar for bloody marys or mimosas.

[xvxdarkknightxvx]

The goofiness of these laws has always amused me, too. Purchase of beer at the 7-11 in VA on a Sunday is permissible, but not until after noon in MD, and only from a bar in PA.

PA experimented with Sunday sales from State Stores, Rooves but none of the stores around here are open on Sundays any more. The carry-out limit for beer in PA is 192 oz., IIRC. That would be 2 six-packs of pounders. Oddly enough, you can buy two sixes of 16oz. beer, walk out of the establishment, put them in your vehicle, and re-enter to purchase another two.

Ocean City, NJ is still dry, and prohibits purchase of numerous items on Sundays.

Go figure :confused:
Ocean Grove, you mean? I know Ocean Grove is dry. That's where I vacation every 4th of July. :)

[danceswithcats]

Ocean Grove, you mean? I know Ocean Grove is dry. That's where I vacation every 4th of July. :)

Uh, no. If you want alcohol in OC, NJ, you bring it in. My buddy has a condo there, and he stops on the causeway at the conveniently located stores prior to crossing the bridge.

[Roland Deschain]

I live in Indiana. I wonder if it would be possible to get some sort of "proposition" on the ballot such as what they have in California all the time to repeal these so called "Blue Laws". I've got to believe that I could alot of signatures in support of something like this!