Blue law
A blue law is a type of law, typically found in
the United States, designed to enforce reli-
gious standards, particularly the observance
of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a
restriction on Sunday shopping. Most have
been repealed, have been declared unconsti-
tutional, or are simply unenforced, although
prohibitions on the sale of alcoholic bever-
ages, and occasionally almost all commerce,
on Sundays are still enforced in many areas.
Blue laws often prohibit an activity only dur-
ing certain hours and there are usually ex-
ceptions to the prohibition of commerce, like
grocery and drug stores. In some places blue
laws may be enforced due to religious prin-
ciples, but others are retained as a matter of
tradition or out of convenience.[1]
Laws of this type are also found in non-
Christian cultures such as Israel, where the
day concerned is Saturday rather than
Sunday, and Saudi Arabia, where the month
of Ramadan is involved [2].
In the Cook Islands, blue laws were first
written legislation, enacted by the London
Missionary Society in 1827, with the consent
of ariki (chiefs). In Tonga, the Vava’u Code
(1839) was inspired by Methodist missionary
teachings, and was a form of blue law. In Ni-
ue, certain activities remain forbidden on
Sunday, reflecting the country’s strong Chris-
tian heritage.
History
The first usage of the word blue law may
have been by the Reverend Samuel Peters
(1735–1826) in his 1781 book General His-
tory of Connecticut. He used it to describe
various laws first enacted by Puritan colonies
in the 17th century, prohibiting certain busi-
ness activities on specific days of the week
(usually Sunday). Sometimes the sale of cer-
tain types of merchandise was prohibited,
and in some cases all retail and business
activity.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no
evidence to support the assertion that the
blue laws were originally printed on blue pa-
per. Rather, the word blue was commonly
used in the 18th century as a disparaging
reference to rigid moral codes and those who
observed