“BLUE LAWS”
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Almost every community in the USA and Canada has some form of local law that regulates activity on the first day of the week. These laws sometimes are referred to as Blue Laws or Sunday Laws. Nobody really knows the origin of why they are called Blue Laws. Some claim it’s because the laws were written on blue paper, bound in a blue covered book or that the Puritans favored the color blue. Since the term blue can also mean sad, gloomy or depressed, it could be a reference to what these laws caused in the communities they possessed.
As of January 1, 2010 Germany stepped up the ladder with National Blue Laws that regulate shopping activity on the first day of the week. The pattern of Blue Laws seems to follow a familiar route through history—first closing laws for business, then rest laws, then worship laws, then persecution and death. The first person to travel this national law route was Emperor Constantine. Prior to Constantine, Nero murdered many Christians and Jews in a straightforward manner, but Constantine began a process to unify the people under laws that blended church and state to create a unified empire.
Constantine’s empire was crumbling and he needed a unifying force. One of the problems he had was competing religions. It’s obvious that he catered to everyone by claiming a conversion to Christianity but holding to pagan rituals. He then synchronized all religions in the empire on March 7, 321 AD with the following:
"Let all judges and all city people and all tradesmen rest upon the venerable day of the sun. But let those dwelling in the country freely and with full liberty attend to the culture of their fields; since it frequently happens that no other day is so fit for the sowing of grain, or the planting of vines; hence, the favorable time should not be allowed to pass, lest the provisions of heaven be lost."
The “venerable day of the sun” was the worship day of the pagans—Sunday. His form of unity began with the most populated areas where business was conducted but exempted the farmers so as not to affect the food supply. When people share something in common, such as, a day of worship, a bond is created and “team spirit” is achieved. But with “team spirit” comes individual compromise. Even today there’s a call to unity, to collect together and shed individualism. Notice the classified ads in various newspapers that advertise for “team players”. It’s rare to see an advertisement seeking an employee with individual attributes or original thoughts. And, many employment ads come right out and state, “Saturdays required.” Why? Because modern employers wants a “team” of equals—everyone works on the same day, everyone rests on the same day, everyone works for the same objective, etc. Job applicants are thus weeded out based on how well they might blend with the existing “team.”
“There is not even any clear theological reason, much less a legal one, for insisting that Sunday be an official day of rest. It was on the seventh day, according to the Old Testament, that the Lord rested from the labors of Creation. Nevertheless, Sunday has been the state-decreed day of rest in Christendom ever since AD 321, when the Emperor Constantine, a convert to Christianity, decreed that citizens "shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun." With that same decree, though, Constantine set a pattern for future blue laws: he made an exception. He said that farm people might work on Sunday to take advantage of fair weather. Ever since, every blue law seems inevitably to have picked up similar variations. . . .As a result U.S. blue laws are riddled with erratic contradictions. In Pennsylvania it is legal to sell a bicycle on Sunday, but not a tricycle; in Massachusetts it is against the law to dredge for oysters, but not to dig for clams; in Connecticut genuine antiques may lawfully be sold, but not reproductions. The New York blue law code is particularly messy. Bars may open at 1 p.m., but baseball games may not begin until 2 p.m. It is legal to sell fruits but not vegetables, an automobile tire but not a tire jack, tobacco but not a pipe. It is unlawful to sell butter or cooked meat after 10 a.m., except that delicatessens may sell these foods between 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.” Time Magazine, October 25, 1963
Notice in the above quote that the States have exceptions for their particular “team” of residents, which results in confusion between States. And, note that the author knew the history of the debate—“It was the seventh day. . .that the Lord rested . . .Nevertheless, Sunday has been the state-decreed day of rest in Christendom ever since AD 321. . .”
National Sunday legislation in the USA began May 21, 1888 with Senate Bill No. 2983 by Senator Blair “. . .to secure to the people the enjoyment of the first day of the week as a day of rest and to promote its observance as a day of religious worship. . .” It didn’t succeed on the national level but Sunday laws remained at local levels. Instead, the Supreme Court began creating case law in favor of the Blue Laws.
“ . . .in 1896, a direct ruling favoring Sunday laws was handed down by the Supreme Court. Justice M. Harlan, speaking for the court, upheld a Georgia blue law (Sunday-closing law) as acceptable under the Constitution because it, the Sunday law, was nothing more than ‘an ordinary police regulation established by the state under its general power to protect the health and morals and to promote the welfare of its people.’”
. . . In 1896, recognizing that a secular approach was stronger, it ruled that Sunday laws were Constitutional because they were only civil ‘police power’ laws. . . The year 1961 became a landmark in Sunday-law history. For, on May 29, four different cases were decided in favor of Sunday laws! And the reason given for them was the ‘police power’ and ‘criminal law’ sanctions thinking of the Supreme Court in the 1890s in regard to such laws! In 1961, the highest court resurrected the “police power” and the “civil regulation” concepts that Justice Stephen Field had pioneered and refined in 1896.”
National Sunday Law Crisis by Vance Ferrell, © 1989, Harvestine Books, pages 42-48.
The “secular approach” also came into play in the mid-seventies with gas stations being closed on Sundays in some locals to “save energy”. That same secular approach might be revived with the Climate Change legislation in light of the fact that the USA seems to be adopting a “Save Mother Earth” type religion. A secular approach could then become a religious approach very easily.
A current example of a “secular approach” is found in a little known United Nations Treaty dated December 11, 1946 called the “Genocide Treaty.” The Treaty had some confusing language that numerous politicians objected to for many years but finally it was approved by the US Senate on October 14, 1988 and signed by President Reagan on November 11, 1988.
On the surface the Treaty is only about genocide—the murder of groups of people, but as pointed out by author, Vance Ferrell:
“This treaty was quickly signed by the very nations that are practicing genocide on a day-by-day basis! They signed it because its wording could not include their governments, —but could be used by those governments in bringing accusation, imprisonment, or death to their citizens! . . . This Genocide Treaty could provide a powerful tool in enforcing the National Sunday Law—when that law is finally enacted. And because it is on the statute books of 96 different nations, a rapid international aspect has been added. The entire world will be able to quickly work together to enforce Sunday observance. The crucial part is that a worldwide standardized crime has been established, with most terrible penalties for its violation. . .” Ibid. p. 77-79

 The Treaty has some very disturbing language, especially the term “mental harm” and that it does not matter if the mental harm is “committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law . . . persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article 3 shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.”
Note it says “persons” not governments or armies of governments or dictators of governments. Persons can only commit murder of one or more people, but not genocide. Genocide is government/dictator elimination of huge groups of “persons” based on race, religion or political beliefs. Individual people are the “constitutionally responsible rulers (elected officials), public officials (appointed bureaucrats) or private individuals (hey, that’s you and me!).” Is it any wonder that 96 nations have adopted the UN treaty? Nations such as China, Russia, India, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, and others around the world. http://www.hrweb.org/legal/genocide.html for entire text of Genocide Treaty.
It’s a documented fact that Sunday keepers who push for Blue Laws claim their day of rest is insulted with Sunday activities by other religion’s. With that logic it’s only a short step to the victim mentality and then a claim of “mental harm”. And, look at the similarity between the Genocide Treaty and Constantine’s edict of 321 AD—“judges”, “city people” and “tradesmen” are somewhat similar to “constitutionally responsible rulers”, “public officials” and “private individuals”. Coincidence? Or is the same worldwide rule of Constantine about to re-emerge?
The last quote on this topic is from a pamphlet written by Alonzo T Jones. At one time Jones associated with the Seventh Day Adventists but later in life associated with the Church of God, Seventh Day. Jones went before the United States Senate Committee of Education and Labor at Washington, D.C. on December 13, 1888 to testify against pending legislation for a National Sunday Law. In his 90-minute presentation, the Chairman interrupted him 169 times to keep him from delivering his entire message and exercising his right to petition the government for redress of grievance, but the Senator failed to silence him. Jones then exercised his right to free speech/press by circulating a pamphlet with quotes from that transcript and additional details he was not allowed to make. The entire pamphlet is at http://www.bible-sabbath.com/Sabbath-Sunday/NationalSundayLaw-Jones.pdf
“And the conclusion of that is, therefore, that there is no basis for Sunday laws on that ground. . . I there showed that if your work on Saturday does not disturb my rest or my worship, my work on Sunday cannot disturb your rest or your worship. . . .no person has ever yet head of a Seventh-day Adventist who ever complained that his rest on the Sabbath was disturbed by other men's work. . .They meet for worship every Saturday; and although, as everybody knows, Saturday is the busiest day of the week, in the midst of such busy cities as Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Kansas City, these churches of Seventh-day Adventists assemble regularly for worship; and no person has ever yet heard of any Seventh-day Adventists' making a complaint that their worship was disturbed by the work, the business, or the traffic that is carried on by other people on that day. The fact is, our worship is not disturbed by these things.”
“Now, sir, if all the labor, the business, and the traffic that is done on Saturday, the day which is acknowledged by all to be the busiest day of the week. -- if all this, in such cities as I have named, does not disturb our rest or our worship, will you please explain how it is that your rest and your worship are disturbed on Sunday, when there is not onethousandth part as much labor, or business, or traffic done on that day as is done on Saturday?”
As you can see from a brief history of the Blue Laws, to successfully make a binding National Sunday Law would require the end of religious freedom. Other rights would then have to be withdrawn to quell descent--freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, due process, equal protection of the law, etc. Actually, the entire make-up of the USA could change overnight with a National Blue Law into a police state. And, unlike the Empire of Constantine, there would be no where to flee outside the jurisdiction of that power unless by the Grace of God.
Pat Homan
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