AIKEN --- After more than an hour of comments from a standing-room-only crowd, the Aiken County Council again voted Tuesday night in favor of repealing the so-called "Blue Law" that forbids certain Sunday-morning sales.
The council voted 6-2 on second reading, with members Gary Bunker and LaWana McKenzie dissenting. A third and final vote is required Aug. 18.
The law forbids certain purchases, including clothes, jewelry and tools, before 1:30 p.m. Sundays. More than 100 people attended Tuesday night's meeting.
Roger Rollins argued for keeping the law intact, saying "It (the Bible) calls us to honor the Sabbath."
He said some might say the law takes away their freedom, but he added, "We are all subject to a higher power."
Meanwhile, business owners, officials of the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce, the Greater North Augusta Chamber of Commerce and even one pastor spoke in favor of repealing the ban.
"I would ask, 'Which day is the Sabbath?' " said Al Matchim, the pastor of Aiken Seventh-day Adventist Church, which honors Saturday as the Sabbath. "... So let's not make it a religious issue."
Chamber officials, many wearing buttons with the slogan "Support Our Kids," said the Sunday-morning ban hurts sales tax collections because Aiken County residents simply drive to Augusta for purchases on Sunday mornings.
They argued that more money would go to schools if the ban is repealed.
Those favoring the law said money shouldn't be a reason to repeal it.
Some council members said their vote wasn't solely based on the sales tax issue but also on the Sunday-morning ban being inconsistent and difficult to enforce.
Tuesday's vote in favor of repealing the law also included an amendment that reiterates state law, allowing employees to object to working on a Sunday based on their religious belief without fear of reprisal by their boss.
Reach Preston Sparks at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.
WHAT'S NEXT?
A third and final vote by the Aiken County Council to repeal the Sunday-morning ban on certain sales is scheduled for Aug. 18.
Got to love the hypocritical Christians trying to force their beliefs upon others at any cost. Will Christians never stop being the most oppressive, aggressive, war-mongering, hypocritical humans on Earth?
Is there any argument in favor of the Blue Laws besides religious ones? Seems to simply be a separation of church and state issue and would be found unconstitutional in any federal court.
Christianity isn't the only religion full of hypocrits, murderers, aggressors, war-mongerers or oppressors. You need to go read your world history books, Ode, then check out what the Muslims are doing these days.
As far as the Bible goes, it does say to honor the Sabbath but it does NOT say that the government should mandate that the Sabbath be honored. It is up to each individual to honor that day in a way that seems right to them. Blue laws do not honor the Sabbath, and as one gentleman stated in the article, the Sabbath is not the same day as Sunday for some religions. Repeal the blue laws and let those people (and any others) be able to shop when they have the time and not scheduled to some obscure law.
Wow, Dragoness...PERFECTLY SAID. "It does NOT say that the government should mandate the Sabbath be honored. It is up tp each individual to honor that day."
Sunday is not the Sabbath of the Bible anyway.
My Bible says that the SEVENTH day is the Sabbath.
Think about it...in the beginning, during the first week of creation, God rested on the SEVENTH day and HALLOWED (set it aside) that day....He also said to REMEMBER the SEVENTH day.
This was during the first week of creation in the Garden of Eden before there was ever a Jew or gentile.
So if they are going to mandate any kind of Sabbath law, it should be on Saturday.
Check your calender...Sunday is the first day, Saturday is the seventh.
And the 4th commandment was NOT done away with at the cross...if that were the case then the other nine would have had to have been done away with also, Which would mean that I could kill, lie, steal, sleep with another mans wife, etc. and get away with it by law....yeah right....wrong !
I came to this conclusion through Prayer and reading the BIBLE.
And other people do what they do because of tradition and because "my daddy and my grand daddy and my great grand daddy were________ and I'll die a ________ .
I also agree with Dragoness....the state should not get involved with church issues.
But, this has to happen so that the Bible prophesy can be fulfilled and then Jesus Christ can return for those who are saved.
These types of things are just the beginning my friends. If you think that this is bad, just wait. We aint seen nothin' yet.
There will come a day...in America...when people will kill other people because of the issue of Sabbath and they will do it in the name of God (Father, forgive them for they know not what they do).
I am a Christian, but the Blue Laws never kept me from going to Church. That's my choice and rarily do I miss Church. I am for repealing the law though as those that have problems and need items on Sunday (or Saturday as the case may be), they will have the option. On last Saturday night near darkness and store closing time, my water supply from the water meter to my house burst and I worked into the night to discover that I needed parts/pieces to repair the leak. With Sunday morning coming and no place in Aiken County to buy needed parts, I had to do with out water in the house until late Sunday evening.
Thanks go out to those that attended the Aiken Meeting last night. In my opinion, religion has nothing to do with Blue Laws. Either you're a Christian or you're not. If your are, you will manage to get to Church.
This is a poorly written article. I attended the whole meeting. The article states that there were two objections voiced about Blue Laws: (1) Lost tax revenue; (2) Enforcement confusion and difficulty. In fact many people at the meeting talked about (1) Violation of "Establishment" and "Equal Protection" provisions of the Constitution; (2) Blue Laws are a theocratic tyranny of the majority religion; (3) Blue Laws were a product of the 18th Century. They made no sense then, and they make none now. The AC reporter must have been asleep during large portions of the meeting. Roger Rollins is quoted in the article. He does represent the views of the rabid evangelicals who would like nothing better than to impose their myth-based philosophies on everyone else. Their precious clerics and churches are failing to do so, so they want government to do the job for them. These are the folk who believe that the cosmos was created 1000 years after the Sumerians invented glue and beer. These people are especially dangerous since they are opposed to rational thinking -- including such impoortant scientific disciplines as biology and paleontology.
I think one of the things that always got me was the holy rollers think no one should work on the Sabbath but it's ok after 1:30pm! That in itself is soooooooooo hypocritical! The way I see it is if you don't want to work on Sunday, then don't! Trust me, there are plenty of people that will gladly work your Sunday for you! avesposito has it 100% right. It IS a seperation of chruch and state issue and therefore unconstitutional!
The government is taking enough of our rights away without having the Christian right taking more. Eliminate the Blue Law.
Need a reason to repeal it? How about Freedom of Enterprise? You cant force others to believe in God, as it also says, those who say Lord Lord shall not enter his kingdom. He doesnt want you to be so enslaved you are not happy, he gives you the freedoms to CHOOSE whom you will serve. Laws are made to enrich the freedom of others, not hinder them
Preston Sparks, you wrote the entire article without interviewing a single person that objected to the repeal. The only reference to an objection was Roger Rollins' obscure comment about some irrelevant Bible implication. Does that mean no one had a single intelligent objection to the "blue law" being repealed? After all these years of people having to deal with the needless irritation and inconvenience and there wasn't a single intelligent objection? What took so long for the council to get around to voting on a repeal?
The same thing that always slows obvious legal moves - mindless demogaguery, inflammatory diversionary tactics, the usual tripe. In this part of the country, that tends to be Bible thumpers. Go figure.
It's ABOUT TIME! Next will come the repeal of the alcohol blue laws, which are equally ridiculous.
I personally believe that the Blue Law is a religious based law. But what I don't understand is the details of the law. Why Sundays at 1:30? Why only certain items? Personally, I believe that the religious people of Aiken, have this set and would have all sales, etc closed on Sunday entirely if it were left up to them, but if you'll notice, they don't mind going to Ryans to eat on Sundays. If Sunday is the day of "rest" why are they allowing the people of Ryans to work on Sunday. This is just simply an opinion. I don't know the law's details and honestly don't care to. I just felt like making my opinion heard...and I hope that the law is DUMPED!
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