I fought for this country and by God, no one has the right to tell me I can't purchase a saxophone Sunday morning!
AIKEN --- If you have an opinion on the so-called "Blue Law" forbidding certain Sunday morning sales in Aiken County, Tuesday night will be your chance to give it.
The county council will hold its first public hearing on the matter during its meeting in the council chambers on Richland Avenue at 7 p.m.
The council has voted on first reading to suspend the state law that forbids some commercial purchases before 1:30 p.m. on Sundays.
If the ban's repeal is approved on second reading, the council will have a third and final vote Aug. 18.
Officials say the council has the authority to repeal the state law locally.
Many business managers and owners and the Aiken County Chamber of Commerce have supported repealing the restriction.
They've argued that it hurts sales, and county sales tax collections, when shoppers go across the river to Georgia, where there is no similar Sunday morning restriction.
So far, county officials say they haven't heard much opinion against repealing the ban.
Reach Preston Sparks at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.
BLUE LAWS
Items that can't be purchased before 1:30 p.m. on Sundays:
- Clothing and clothing accessories (except those that qualify as swimwear, novelties, souvenirs, hosiery, or undergarments)
- Housewares, china, glassware and kitchenware
- Home, business and office furnishings and appliances
- Tools, paints, hardware, building supplies and lumber
- Jewelry, silverware, watches, clocks, luggage, musical instruments, recorders, recordings, radios, televisions, phonographs, record players or hi-fi or stereo sets, or equipment
- Sporting goods (except when sold on premises where sporting events and recreational facilities are permitted)
- Yard or piece goods; automobiles, trucks and trailers.
THE PENALTY: a fine of not less than $50 and no more than $250 for a first offense. A fine of no less than $100 and no more than $500 for each subsequent offense.
Source: South Carolina Code of Laws
Comments
I fought for this country and by God, no one has the right to tell me I can't purchase a saxophone Sunday morning!
I will try to make the meeting Tuesday night, but I would like to register my opinion in any case. The Blue Laws are of a bygone era. With people working so many shifts and traveling at all hours, it makes sense (both common and business) to detract restrictions that would take our dollars into another state or county when they could be used here. Please be sure to include North Augusta, the Valley, and all areas of Aiken County in the area that is positively affected by the lifting of the Blue Laws. I applaud the council on finally taking steps to keep up in the 21st century.
This archaic law should be repealed as it makes no sense to restrict sales on Sunday. Lets keep our money in South Carolina.
How about everyone start wearing swimsuits to church. When questioned about it, just say "I wanted to wear a 3 piece suit, but due to the Blue Laws this is all I could buy".
BTW: Good one blamar.
SC law states: Every adult male must bring a rifle to church on Sunday in order to ward off Indian attacks.
I wonder how they regulate that one?
I like this one even better: When approaching a four way or blind intersection in a non-horse driven vehicle you must stop 100 ft from the intersection and discharge a firearm into the air to warn horse traffic.
Good ones pizz. How about:It is a capital offense to inadvertently kill someone while attempting suicide.
If they get away with that crap,what will it be next?
Good one bowtie, what does it mean?
what patricia, can't find yo rock you crawled out from under.duhhh
The biggest supporters of Blue Laws are those who illegally sell booze on Sundays.
I have always said, the south is so far behind, the rest of the country, that when and if they ever catch up the world will be coming to an end!!S.C. with all it's poverty, should be open twenty- four seven.!! They took away the gambling, with all the taxes it was bringing in, and look where they are now!! Why don't they stay out of others buisness and let people, who want to shop, gamble, etc, alone.Now the gamblers take thier buisness to N.C. and MIssissippi, and have a good time, when they could have spent thier money in S.C.!!!!
I really wish we could get rid of the blue laws here. It's so aggrivating to know that on Sunday if I have an emergency like say my toliet explodes at 10 am I have to go to Augusta or wait until 1:30pm to go shop for another one! I live 2 minutes away from Lowe's but can't use that one until after 1:30 on Sundays. I think that as a tax payer I should be able to buy whatever I want or need at any hour of the day or night.
Gotta Go, Gotta Go. Blue Laws Gotta Go...If I have to cross the river just to get non grocery items, I'll get my grocery items then also. It's not about going to church, OK. People will still go to church. I've wanted to do things on the way to church, but due to the Blue Law I have to wait until I get out of church usually around noon, but still have to wait until 1:30 pm and in most cases it costs us money for gas to go home and then return to the stores. It's a shame it has to go down to the people when we supposedly have knowledgeable politicians that I know for a fact for several years that the state was loosing money/jobs for the morning hours. Jobs that help.
Jen: Just what the heck are you eating on Saturday?
My first experience with this was an early morning trip to the closest WalMart to my house, over the river in N. Augusta. My husband and I had some batteries, an extension cord, and various items like toiletries and such. The cashier told us she couldn't sell those items to us until after 1:30 and showed us a long list of "can't buy" items due to blue laws. I couldn't believe it...how stupid! Needless to say, we shop in Georgia exclusively now, especially on Sundays.
And Jesus threw the merchants and coin changers out of the Temple, and said if you do not repent and quit shopping on the Sabbath then I will tempt your governor with a Latino hottie. And I'll double the size of the local Palmetto bugs. So just watch yourselves or the wrath of God will come down on your State.
You gotta love it when people hope for Sunday sales so that they can shop on the way home from church.
I would love for Belk to be open early and later. Since Augusta does not have one, N.A. is the closes one but limited for us Evans shoppers to get there. Leave work at 4, go home, walk the dog, eat dinner and then evening traffic on all main roads getting there, it's to late to shop before they announce the store is now closing..Sunday is a great time to shop but limited time. grow up SC get off the blue laws....
Out of the 19 comments not one is for retaining these silly blue laws. I'll bet they'll stay on the books though, if the Southern Baptists preachers have anything to do with it.
I bet those Southern Catholics are agin it too.
You'll find no Catholics in any part of the country who will oppose buying liquor anytime, anywhere.
That's correct and factual justthefacts. In fact we use the wine in our Mass. Very important and good for the digestion of the wafer. But then the Baptists are half-loaded most of the time anyway.
Catholics I know, including me, think that the blue laws are way outdated! Wine is good for the soul, by the way. ;-)
The blue laws are just a mechanism for the hypocritical Christians to publicly show their hypocrisy as they line up for the buffett at Shoneys and Ryans at high noon on Sundays after sitting through church service with their hangover.
1941, they took away video poke gambling so they could get more people to put their money towards state funded gambling, the lottery.
One argument I have heard for keeping the blue laws those is small business owners who run their own shops say some of the only time they have off. Of course they could choose to stay closed regardless of the law, but they feel if they let loyal customers go elsewhere then, those customers will keep going elsewhere. I am not saying whether I agree with the argument, just saying I have heard it.
Most of those are already closed on Sundays. A lot of them close at 6 on weekdays or earlier. So why would they be affected by longer hours for bigger stores on Sundays?
This is a chance for the people to stand up and voice their opinions. I hope EVERYONE shops up even North Augusta! These outdated laws do not serve the interests of the majority.
I guess there should be a call for all Aiken County voters who want blue laws to go away, contact your representative.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
