{"id":484,"date":"2015-11-23T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2015-11-23T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/?p=484"},"modified":"2018-01-04T13:27:26","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T18:27:26","slug":"state-blue-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/2015\/11\/23\/state-blue-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"State Blue Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Letter<\/a>

Letter from JCPenny at Ridgmar Mall to Lanny Hall, 1979, UNTA_AR0177-027-003<\/em><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n


\r\n Blue laws are pretty common in the United States, and the term refers to restrictions of sale. In areas where blue laws are in effect, Sundays are traditionally off limits for most retail establishments and liquor is completely off limits.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today, blue laws in Texas restrict only two types of purchases: automobiles and alcohol. Car dealerships must be closed either Saturday or Sunday (which day is up to their discretion) and alcohol is only allowed to be sold during certain times of the day. Beer and wine can be sold between 7 a.m. and midnight Monday through Saturday, and on Sunday it can be sold between midnight and 1 a.m. and again between noon and midnight. State law allows certain large cities to extend sales to 2 a.m. on any day of the week. Liquor can only be sold at specialized stores, and sale is restricted to 10 a.m. through 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with no sales permitted on Sunday, New Year\u2019s Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Before 1985, however, there were a lot of things you couldn\u2019t buy on Sundays. You could buy screwdrivers but not screws, for example. Cloth diapers could not be sold, but disposable diapers were okay. The restrictions had no rhyme or reason to them, but proponents of state blue laws made sure they were heard in the early 1980\u2019s. Getting rid of blue laws would force retailers to be open for 7 days a week rather than 6, resulting in higher utility overhead and a raise in the amount of wages paid out to employees. It was unclear for many stores whether being open on Sunday would result in enough revenue to cover these new expenses.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Tarrant County, Lanny Hall was openly torn about whether or not to uphold the Texas Blue Laws. In a letter to a constituent, he admits that he believes Sunday should be reserved for a day of rest and for families to be together. He states that he has received overwhelming support from Tarrant County voters for repealing the blue laws. Much more information about the Texas Blue Laws and their role in the 66th, 67th, and 68th legislative sessions can be found in the Lanny Hall collection, which contains <\/span>records pertaining to subjects such as public education, tuition rates and funding for colleges and universities, equal rights and LGBT issues, transportation, and health topics.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"Letter<\/a>

Letter from JCPenny at Ridgmar Mall to Lanny Hall, 1979, UNTA_AR0177-027-003<\/em><\/p><\/div>

\"Letter<\/a>

Letter from JCPenny at Ridgmar Mall to Lanny Hall, 1979, UNTA_AR0177-027-003<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blue laws are pretty common in the United States, and the term refers to restrictions of sale. In areas where blue laws are in effect, Sundays are traditionally off limits for most retail establishments and liquor is completely off limits. Today, blue laws in Texas restrict only two types of purchases: automobiles and alcohol. Car… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p60UnY-7O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":498,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/2015\/12\/09\/the-crazy-quilt-and-the-wildlife-conservation-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":484,"position":0},"title":"The “Crazy Quilt” and the Wildlife Conservation Act","author":"Alexandra","date":"December 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lone Star State is great for hunting. North Texas offers access to whitetail deer, bobcats, coyotes, grey and red fox, badgers, raccoons, ringtail cats, wild hogs, teal, ducks, geese, and a variety of fish. In 2015, there were 1,060,455 registered license holders, according to the U.S. Fish And Wildlife\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"game laws\"","block_context":{"text":"game laws","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/tag\/game-laws\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of Texans for Wildlife Conservation Magazine, UNTA_AR0177-014-003","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/11\/UNTA_AR0177-014-003_001-740x943.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/11\/UNTA_AR0177-014-003_001-740x943.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/11\/UNTA_AR0177-014-003_001-740x943.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/11\/UNTA_AR0177-014-003_001-740x943.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":438,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/2015\/10\/28\/shh-texas-wiretaps\/","url_meta":{"origin":484,"position":1},"title":"Shh… Texas Wiretaps","author":"Alexandra","date":"October 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Drugs weren\u2019t really a big scandal in the United States until the 1960\u2019s. A few anti-drug laws were established earlier than this, but drugs were not an enigmatic or scary aspect of American culture. This was mostly because drugs circulated among minority groups, like Mexican immigrants, African Americans, and even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"drugs\"","block_context":{"text":"drugs","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/tag\/drugs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Header of \"Capitol Dialogue\" Newsletter, UNTA_AR0177-065-002_01","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/10\/UNTA_AR0177-065-002_01-740x311.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/10\/UNTA_AR0177-065-002_01-740x311.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/10\/UNTA_AR0177-065-002_01-740x311.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/10\/UNTA_AR0177-065-002_01-740x311.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/2014\/09\/03\/the-southwest-federal-regional-council\/","url_meta":{"origin":484,"position":2},"title":"The Southwest Federal Regional Council","author":"Morgan","date":"September 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1972, President Richard Nixon (1969-1974) established Federal Regional Councils for ten different regions of the United States. The purpose of the Councils was to foster interagency communications and to strengthen relations between federal, state, and local governments. The ultimate goal was to ensure federal laws and plans were implemented\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"UNTA_AR0316-005-002_01 - cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/04\/UNTA_AR0316-005-002_01-cover-137x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":251,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/2015\/08\/12\/texas-women-for-equal-rights\/","url_meta":{"origin":484,"position":3},"title":"Texas Women for Equal Rights","author":"Alexandra","date":"August 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1978, proponents of equal rights for women were beginning to feel a little trapped. When the 27th amendment passed the Senate and House of Representatives in 1972, Congress placed a seven-year deadline on the ratification process--1979. In the first year, 22 of the required 38 states (including Texas) ratified\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Barbara Jordan\"","block_context":{"text":"Barbara Jordan","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/tag\/barbara-jordan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Extension of the time limit for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/08\/metapth595266_l_TSOU_0441-003-006_01-400x511.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":298,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/2015\/09\/16\/a-look-into-tomorrow-for-waxahachie\/","url_meta":{"origin":484,"position":4},"title":"A Look Into Tomorrow for Waxahachie","author":"Alexandra","date":"September 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 In the 1980s, Waxahachie, Texas was an exciting place to be. Located in Ennis County, the city attracted many companies to set up headquarters within its limits, including TXI, Chaparral Steel, Owens-Corning Fiberglass, Chevron-Gulf Chemical, Foster Forbes Glass, Tyler Refrigeration, and Leggett and Platt. The city\u2019s population was around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"physics\"","block_context":{"text":"physics","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/tag\/physics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Location Map of Proposed Superconducting Super Collider","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/09\/UNTA_AR0329-001-001_01-740x495.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/09\/UNTA_AR0329-001-001_01-740x495.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/09\/UNTA_AR0329-001-001_01-740x495.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/09\/UNTA_AR0329-001-001_01-740x495.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/2015\/05\/14\/flower-mound-new-town\/","url_meta":{"origin":484,"position":5},"title":"Flower Mound New Town","author":"UNT Special Collections","date":"May 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"With a population hovering around 63,000 today, the city of Flower Mound is a vibrant and prosperous Dallas suburb. However, the city at one time hoped to harbor a population of 100,000 before the start of the 21st century. This lofty goal sprung from a 1968 decision, in which the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"FlowerMound 001","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/05\/FlowerMound-001-740x293.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/05\/FlowerMound-001-740x293.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/05\/FlowerMound-001-740x293.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2015\/05\/FlowerMound-001-740x293.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":541,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484\/revisions\/541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/southwest-metroplex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}