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Thursday, October 09, 2003
Alright, so get this.
The age old and inexplicable "blue laws" that prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays have long-ago been tossed in out most New England states... but not Massachusetts. As the laws disappeared around us, it caused a weekend rush of beer runs over the border, and sucked lots of tax dollars and liquor store profits outta the state. So what did our fair lawmakers decide to do about that? Abolish the law here, too? Nawwww... that makes too much sense. Instead, they made it ok for stores within 10 miles of the border to sell on Sundays. Forget the logic that asks "What about the store that is 11 miles away? What happens to them?". Well, either move it or lose it, right? The political masterminds didn't stop there, though... it was also decided that it would be ok for all stores to sell on Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why then? Honestly, I have no idea. Your guess is just as good as, and probably better than, mine. Well, the time has finally come to visit the issue again. A new bill was voted on yesterday that would have allowed towns to issue permits to businesses that wanted to open on Sunday. A perfectly reasonable measure, don't you think? Let the towns, and business owners, decide what's right for them. Join our neighbor states in doing away with a ban that no longer has any meaning. But did logic prevail? Nooooo, of course not. And why did the measure fail? Let's see... "The House yesterday preserved the Commonwealth's prohibition of Sunday alcohol sales in stores, with huge assistance from some lawmakers whose districts have already lifted the Sunday liquor ban."Now there's a shocker. Seems the Reps from areas within that arbitrary 10 mile zone, the places that already allow sales on Sunday, banded together to defeat the newly proposed bill. Shameful? Yeah. Despicable? Sure. Surprising? Nope. Equally unsurprising are the religious nuts who oppose the bill because they want to keep a law that helps in "distinguishing Sunday from other days." Let's see... isn't Sunday the day you have church services? Doesn't that help the faithful flock remember what day it is? Let's see, what else... oh yeah, the paper's a lot thicker that day. Will that help? Sunday is also distinguished by the fact that it's the only day that comes right after Saturday. Will that remind you to bring in the sheaves? Yeesh. I haven't even mentioned football, but that's only for five months of Sundays. Waitaminute, what happens during the month-long holiday period where you actually can buy alcohol on Sundays? Do all the church-goers suddenly forget to show up? Do they ignore their 'day of rest'? "Honey, I just went to the store and bought a six-pack... and I can't for the life of me remember what day it is!" "I'm sorry I didn't show up for work on Monday, boss... I bought a box of wine yesterday, got sloshed, and totally forgot about the start of the workweek. I blame the temporary suspension of our trusted blue laws!" Alright, I'm done. My brain hurts.  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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