Why can't you buy liquor on Sundays (or in states that you can, why is there some sort of stipulation?)?

Answer 1

Most States place limits on the days and times when alcohol may be sold, and these restrictions vary widely across jurisdictions. Many States have strictly limited the sale of alcohol on Sundays. This policy topic identifies States that banned Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption as of January 1, 1998, and tracks repeals of these bans from that date forward. No State bans Sunday sales for on-premises consumption. Thus, this policy analysis is limited to off-premises sales only. Many States prohibit virtually all Sunday sales, but provide minor exceptions that have little effect on total sales volume. These States are included in the "ban" category.

Bans on Sunday sales first appeared prior to the Revolutionary War as part of the colonies' blue laws (so called because they were published on blue paper in some colonies); pre-Revolutionary blue laws prohibited breaking the Sabbath by working, shopping, or consuming alcohol on Sundays. Enforcement of these laws declined after the American Revolution but regained momentum during the temperance movement leading up to Prohibition. Bans on Sunday sales reappeared in many States after the repeal of Prohibition, in some cases because the preexisting bans from the temperance era had never been repealed. States with Sunday bans have been reconsidering these restrictions in recent years with a particular focus on their impact on tax revenues and economic activity.[1].

Although some States have total bans on all Sunday off-premises alcohol sales, other States have minor exceptions that do not affect their classification as ban States. For example, States that allow tastings at wineries on Sundays, or that allow for sales on a particular Sunday holiday or during a special event (e.g., New Year's Eve, a festival, or Super Bowl Sunday) but otherwise prohibit Sunday sales are included in the APIS analysis as "ban" States. APIS does not address these minor exceptions in its analysis. States are classified as not having a ban if they allow significant Sunday sales, even if they impose some restrictions, e.g., beer can be sold but not distilled spirits. A description of the classification criteria employed by APIS is provided in the Definitions section. Because of the variability of Sunday sales restrictions in States that do not have bans, comparisons between States with and without bans should be made with care.

Only States that had Sunday sales bans in place as of January 1, 1998 are included in the APIS analysis. Research conducted for this policy topic confirms that there have been no new Sunday sales bans enacted in any State since that date. APIS tracks the repeal of these statutes from the January 1, 1998 baseline forward, providing the basis for determining the impact of these repeals.

A State may have lifted its ban in stages, e.g., first allowing Sunday sales of a specific type of alcoholic beverages or in limited locations and then expanding the exceptions or repealing Sunday-specific restrictions entirely. Once a State allows Sunday sales beyond very minimal exceptions (see above for general discussion and Variables section for specifics), APIS considers that State to no longer have a ban. Any changes that remove additional restrictions are summarized in notes to the comparison tables for this policy.

APIS explicitly recognizes two types of exceptions to bans on Sunday sales. One exception is for statutes that permit local governments to enact Sunday sales ordinances that are less restrictive than the State ban. These "local option" laws are included when they are explicit and included in a jurisdiction's Sunday sales ban legislation. Courts may confer similar authority to local governments through interpretations of more general statutory or constitutional provisions that are not specific to Sunday sales. The APIS analysis includes only those provisions based on specific Sunday sales statutes.


Note that "local option" can also refer to State laws and court opinions in States without a Sunday sales ban. In these cases, local governments are permitted to impose restrictions on Sunday sales beyond any restrictions found in State law. APIS does not track these forms of local variations in State law pertaining to Sunday sales.

The second type of exception is for States that ban Sunday sales for all alcoholic beverages EXCEPT beer with an alcohol content of 3.2 percent or less alcohol content by weight (3.2 beer).

Answer 2

The prohibition of the sale of liquor on Sundays is in observance of this day as a holy day. Although states vary in their laws on this, typically if they allow it, it is after Noon or 1pm. Just as a side note: I have seen people leave church and go straight to the liquor store, interesting....Hmmmm??

Answer 3

It actually has to do with Sunday being a holy day....In some States you can buy Beer or wine after 1PM which is long after church gets out.. Some States are more openminded and allow other types of alcohol as well..It is a State by State policy

Answer 4

I live in the so called Bible belt. Where I live, not only can you not buy liquor on Sunday,you can't buy it on holidays, and you can't buy it on election days until after 7pm.

You can only buy liquor in liquor stores and they close at 9pm Mon-Sat. I think the laws are ridiculous, but who am I? I don't know the reasoning except in the Bible belt you shouldn't be drinking alcohol at all.

At least we do have alcohol. There are still dry counties in Texas and Tennessee that don't sell alcohol at all.

Answer 5

Q: what's the version between a Christian evangelical street preacher and a prostitute? A: The prostitute knows whilst its time to circulate away. right here is yet another...A Jewish boy comes residing house from college and tells his mom he has a factor interior the play. She asks, "What section is it? The boy says, "I play the portion of the Jewish husband." the mummy scowls and says, "circulate back and tell the instructor you like a speaking section." properly, on account which you look to basically be doing JW jokes, and that i'm an atheist, right here is one... Q: What do you get once you go an atheist with a Jehovah’s Witness? A: a guy or woman who knocks on your door for no reason

Answer 6

Because we still live in a world where the dominant systems of government allow other people to make your life their business. That is the primary issue (with many other questionable laws as well), the fact that it's a "holy day" for some people is secondary to that basic governmental flaw.

Answer 7

money plan and simple
it costs a store more to sell alcohol on the weekends even more to sell on Sundays