Most of us in Texas and the South are only marginally bothered by Blue
Laws.     Principally when we want to buy alcohol.     These laws then
become a constant reminder of the religious oppression that blankets our
region.

Still, there is another side to the Blue Laws.    They are a reminder of
how our society once was not so much a rat race.    And the
disappearance of a set of laws that slowed things down is kind of like
the disappearance of the front porch.    It saddens to see the miserable
24 hour,  concrete, smogsville that Texas and the rest of the South has
become.

Tony
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Southern 'Blue Laws' Under Fire
by BRETT MARTEL
Associated Press Writer

MONROE, La. (AP) -- As a churchgoing city councilman and minister's son,
Robert Stevens is well aware of the political risks that come with
challenging the Sunday liquor restrictions of this Bible Belt city.
''It's still taboo,'' he says.

But with expected revenue shortfalls in Monroe and a push to increase
bookings at the new convention center, it was Stevens who began
questioning publicly whether the city's best interests are served by
banning Bloody Marys and other drinks from Sunday brunch.

''We need to be looking at generating revenue versus laying off
employees,'' Stevens said. ''It's not going to kill anybody to look at
it.''

In heavily Christian Monroe and cities like it across the South, the
last bastions of blue laws are succumbing to the pressures of the
almighty dollar.

''Business does best in the areas with the fewest restrictions,'' said
Bill Oakland, an economics professor at Tulane University in New
Orleans. ''If one jurisdiction tries to be more restrictive than
surrounding areas, they lose their shirt.''

As recently as the 1970s, the centuries-old laws -- named for the blue
paper they were written on -- kept shoppers across the South from
numerous activities on Sundays, including grocery shopping or going to
hardware stores. In Louisiana, auto dealerships remain closed on
Sundays.

Change began when popular tourist destinations sought to loosen
restrictions by challenging local ordinances, or in the case of Myrtle
Beach, S.C., seeking exemptions from the state.

''A lot of this has become antiquated,'' said Robert Snyder, an American
studies professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
''Eventually a lot of them will either be thrown out on constitutional
grounds because of the separation of church and state or be overridden
by economic forces.''

States have increasingly left enforcement of the laws to local
discretion, resulting in a patchwork of sometimes farcical Sunday sales
laws.

The Wal-Mart in York, S.C., can sell groceries on Sunday morning but
can't sell clothing and hundreds of other items until 1:30 p.m. That
means barricading part of the store for more than 13 hours every Sunday.

The Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C., stretches across two
counties, one of which has maintained its blue laws. On Sundays, stores
on one side of the mall open at noon while the others must wait until
1:30 p.m.

Where retail blue laws remain, they have been sustained in part by small
business owners who want a day off, said Paul Dunn, a business professor
at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

''That blue laws are attributed to Christianity is not necessarily an
issue to them,'' Dunn said.

Some have championed Sunday retail restrictions as a way to keep out
large chains such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart, which economists cite as
blue law busters.

''They have big inventory that's chewing up money if it's just sitting
there, so they want to stay open,'' Oakland said.
Jim Hatchell, director of the South Carolina Merchants Association, said
most of his members supported closing on Sundays before the advent of
superstores and the Internet, which have widened shopping opportunities
to all day, every day.

''Now, most of our members would like the flexibility to set their own
hours,'' Hatchell said. ''Retail commerce has developed to the point
where blue laws don't work anymore.''

The blue laws likely to endure longest are those dealing with alcohol,
in part because it is easier to show in court that anti-drinking
measures serve a secular purpose. Georgia and South Carolina, for
example, do not even consider their drinking restrictions in the same
class as other blue laws that can be tightened or loosened locally.

But in states where local governments set the ground rules for alcohol
sales, economic forces tilt the scales.

Outside Monroe, the small town of Richwood has dropped its Sunday ban on
liquor sales.

Stevens, meanwhile, has yet to formally propose Sunday liquor sales in
Monroe. And if he does, there will be some resistance.

''This is a religious community and this proposal flies in the face of
the norms of most of the people in this community,'' said Jack Wright, a
lawyer who led a community group's successful fight against video
gambling in Ouachita Parish.

''We believe the seventh day is holy and we believe God will bless our
community if we honor him on that day.''