Pennsylvanians of a certain age remember the days when opening a shop on a Sunday and selling a consumer something was against the law. The result, predictably, was to drive business to nearby states or communities that did not have such a law.
These laws restricted the freedom of citizens and wasted public resources. When retailers at the Granite Run Mall in Delaware County decided to test the law by allowing people to shop with them on a Sunday, a state trooper was positioned outside the store all day, carefully recording every single sales transaction. This record was used to generate multiple fines for daring to allow people to buy a record album on the Sabbath.
The law was declared unconstitutional in 1978 on technical grounds, so Pennsylvanians were allowed to shop when they pleased, if a retailer was willing to be open. The sales of Alcohol remained unavailable for a longer time, and today is still is a type of Blue Law allowing the state to hold a near-monopoly on sales., as well as restricting types of alcohol sales on Sundays.
Blue Laws are still enforced around the world, notably in Europe. The reasons for restricting freedom to shop vary. While these laws may have had religious beginnings, they often exist because restricting freedom is viewed as perfectly natural by some. Businessweek reports that a union representative in France expressed this opinion, “Sunday should be for rest, for spending time with friends and family…there’s no reason consumers can’t plan ahead and shop another time”. There is nothing wrong with that sentiment, unless you decide to mandate it into law to restrict the freedom of others.
In France the result has been the opening of 24/7 retail by several chains, with almost no employees, because the staff is not allowed to come to work. Instead, the stores employ self-checkout and a few security guards. Businessweek reports happy consumers regaining their freedom. What about the employees who might want to earn a bit of overtime? They are out of luck.
In Pennsylvania, we woke up (after hundreds of years) to the freedom to shop for most things whenever we wish, and from any retailer we like. When will our sales of alcohol exit the dark ages?