Blue Laws you've experienced first hand

[OCGuy81]

There are still a lot of old, Prohibition era "blue laws" as they're often called on the books in many states.

What are some of the stricter or odd liquor laws you've encountered in your travels?

Two stand out to me, and maybe it's culture shock coming from California where it's pretty easy to find liquor at anytime.

Utah - I was visiting Utah, and remember really wanting a good beer to relax with that evening at my hotel.  Apparently, and perhaps this has changed, any beer that's more than 4.0% ABV (so basically anything with more alcohol than a Coors or Dud Light) has to be bought in a state run store.  Said stores are also closed on Sunday.  This was the strictest liquor laws I've encountered.

Louisiana - For being in the south, they seem a bit more relaxed, evidenced by the drive through daquiri establishments and liquor stores I saw.   Maybe this is just rumor, but I heard a PASSENGER is allowed an open container, but obviously a driver they frown upon. 

[1995hoo]

I worked in Montgomery, Alabama, during the summer of 1997 and I was dismayed when I discovered I could not buy beer at the supermarket on Sunday. There was nothing anywhere in the store to indicate this. I only discovered it when I brought a six-pack to the checkout and the cashier was incredulous I had picked up beer. I was incredulous right back. I'd never heard of such a thing. (The liquor stores at home in Virginia were closed on Sunday back then, but that was different because it wasn't unusual for stores to be closed on Sunday.)

Here's one requiring caution: Virginia state law does not prohibit a passenger from consuming alcohol while riding in a motor vehicle. The driver may not do the same, of course. But there is a rebuttable presumption the driver has violated the law if there is an open container anywhere in the passenger section of the car, any of the beverage in said container has been removed, and anything the driver says or does suggests he has been drinking at any time. This means you can be convicted of drinking while driving even if your BAC doesn't exceed the .08 threshold and even if you only consumed something earlier. For example, you're at a restaurant having wine with dinner and you don't want to finish the bottle. Virginia law lets you stick the cork in the bottle and take it home with you. If you put it in the backseat and a cop stops you for something, you may be in a lot of trouble if he sees that bottle. Always put the bottle in the trunk to avoid the issue. Same principle applies if, say, you were out fishing or you were at a football tailgate and you didn't have a place to dispose of your empty beer bottles. Put the empty bottles in the trunk, never in the passenger area.

[renegade]

Tennessee.  Could not buy alcohol on July 4.

[nexus73]

Monmouth OR is a dry town.  For that matter so is Lynchburg TN, home of Jack Daniels.  Go figure...LOL!

Rick

[OCGuy81]

I worked in Montgomery, Alabama, during the summer of 1997 and I was dismayed when I discovered I could not buy beer at the supermarket on Sunday. There was nothing anywhere in the store to indicate this. I only discovered it when I brought a six-pack to the checkout and the cashier was incredulous I had picked up beer. I was incredulous right back. I'd never heard of such a thing. (The liquor stores at home in Virginia were closed on Sunday back then, but that was different because it wasn't unusual for stores to be closed on Sunday.)

Here's one requiring caution: Virginia state law does not prohibit a passenger from consuming alcohol while riding in a motor vehicle. The driver may not do the same, of course. But there is a rebuttable presumption the driver has violated the law if there is an open container anywhere in the passenger section of the car, any of the beverage in said container has been removed, and anything the driver says or does suggests he has been drinking at any time. This means you can be convicted of drinking while driving even if your BAC doesn't exceed the .08 threshold and even if you only consumed something earlier. For example, you're at a restaurant having wine with dinner and you don't want to finish the bottle. Virginia law lets you stick the cork in the bottle and take it home with you. If you put it in the backseat and a cop stops you for something, you may be in a lot of trouble if he sees that bottle. Always put the bottle in the trunk to avoid the issue. Same principle applies if, say, you were out fishing or you were at a football tailgate and you didn't have a place to dispose of your empty beer bottles. Put the empty bottles in the trunk, never in the passenger area.

That's interesting about Virginia.  Reminds me a bit of another piece of Louisiana's laws (or perhaps this too is rumor) that as long as a straw hasn't been put into a cup, it constitutes a closed container. I'm sure there are stipulations that come with that (e.g. if there is not straw and no clear evidence of consumption, etc)

[jeffandnicole]

Delaware does permit passengers to drink in the vehicle (there are 5 states total that allow it, and I think we've already touched on 3 of them).  This oddity about Delaware is in contrast to their otherwise very strict and limited sale of alcohol otherwise - No alcohol can be sold after 1am, and last call must be made no later than 12:45am (makes for an early evening, especially when you're from nearly every other state that permits later serving hours).  All packaged beer/wine/alcohol can only be sold in liquor stores.  They used to restrict sales on Sunday, but that no longer exists.

Bergan County, NJ has very wide-ranging Blue Laws.  Most stores, including the malls, cannot open on Sunday. 

I remember many years ago Ocean City, NJ also had blue laws which prevented most businesses from opening on Sunday.  Considering weekends in the summer are the prime time for shops to make money, this had to be a crippling restriction.  OCNJ still doesn't allow alcohol whatsoever, including selling of and BYOBs.  Yet, their annual 'Night in Venice' practically takes on a Mardi Gras vibe with all the public consumption of alcohol. 

PA restricts the sale of alcohol, especially on Sundays and holidays (although Sunday sales have loosened up a bit).  Because wine & alcohol is sold thru state stores and is relatively expensive with a relatively limited selection, people tend to flock to the surrounding states to make their purchases.

[Big John]

Wisconsin doesn't allow car dealerships to be open on Sunday, having an affect of casual shoppers looking at the lots on Sunday without a sales representative hounding them at that time.

[1995hoo]

I worked in Montgomery, Alabama, during the summer of 1997 and I was dismayed when I discovered I could not buy beer at the supermarket on Sunday. There was nothing anywhere in the store to indicate this. I only discovered it when I brought a six-pack to the checkout and the cashier was incredulous I had picked up beer. I was incredulous right back. I'd never heard of such a thing. (The liquor stores at home in Virginia were closed on Sunday back then, but that was different because it wasn't unusual for stores to be closed on Sunday.)

Here's one requiring caution: Virginia state law does not prohibit a passenger from consuming alcohol while riding in a motor vehicle. The driver may not do the same, of course. But there is a rebuttable presumption the driver has violated the law if there is an open container anywhere in the passenger section of the car, any of the beverage in said container has been removed, and anything the driver says or does suggests he has been drinking at any time. This means you can be convicted of drinking while driving even if your BAC doesn't exceed the .08 threshold and even if you only consumed something earlier. For example, you're at a restaurant having wine with dinner and you don't want to finish the bottle. Virginia law lets you stick the cork in the bottle and take it home with you. If you put it in the backseat and a cop stops you for something, you may be in a lot of trouble if he sees that bottle. Always put the bottle in the trunk to avoid the issue. Same principle applies if, say, you were out fishing or you were at a football tailgate and you didn't have a place to dispose of your empty beer bottles. Put the empty bottles in the trunk, never in the passenger area.

That's interesting about Virginia.  Reminds me a bit of another piece of Louisiana's laws (or perhaps this too is rumor) that as long as a straw hasn't been put into a cup, it constitutes a closed container. I'm sure there are stipulations that come with that (e.g. if there is not straw and no clear evidence of consumption, etc)

Heh, this discussion reminded me of the WINE GLASS TRAVEL MUGS one of our relatives in Florida gave us one Christmas. She sells Pampered Chef stuff and I guess she got these through them. My initial reaction was to wonder what the heck I'd ever use these for, given that I can't very well use one while I'm driving, but this discussion of Virginia's open container law prompts me to realize the passenger could use one to drink wine in the car as long as the driver hasn't consumed any alcohol!

(This picture was taken last year on the Auto Train, where these things are perfect because the train bounces around. We also use them when we eat outside on the deck because the lids help keep bugs away from the wine.)

[OCGuy81]

LMAO! Those are awesome. 

[Pete from Boston]

Bergan County, NJ has very wide-ranging Blue Laws.  Most stores, including the malls, cannot open on Sunday.

I'm not sure I would say that Bergen's blue laws are wide-ranging.  It is true that businesses are not supposed to sell nonperishable items on Sundays.  This is very loosely enforced, and is generally left up to the discretion of individual towns.  The Borough of Paramus is famous for its strict enforcement of this rule.  I recall in the days before Garden State Plaza was enclosed, the garden shop would be open on Sundays, and nothing else.  I also recall Valley Fair, a department store with a sizable grocery line, roping off prohibited areas on Sunday.

I remember many years ago Ocean City, NJ also had blue laws which prevented most businesses from opening on Sunday.  Considering weekends in the summer are the prime time for shops to make money, this had to be a crippling restriction.  OCNJ still doesn't allow alcohol whatsoever, including selling of and BYOBs.  Yet, their annual 'Night in Venice' practically takes on a Mardi Gras vibe with all the public consumption of alcohol.

Ocean City, I've been told, kept that rule because it made it an attractive destination for family vacation business.  Scratch the surface of morality and sometimes it's green underneath. 

Ocean Grove was much more notorious in this regard.  Originally a Methodist tent camp, it even banned bicycling on Sundays into the 1980s.



Massachusetts is often notorious for its puritanical blue laws, but most of those have been repealed or are simply not enforced.  The best-known ones now still pertain to alcohol.  There are no drink specials allowed here for a duration of less than one week, which effectively bans happy hours or discount drink nights.  It was only in 2004 that Massachusetts allowed alcohol  sales on Sundays. Ironically, it was teetotaler Mitt Romney in office when this change occurred.  Alcohol retail sales are still prohibited on many major holidays.

[kphoger]

New Year's 2001/2 in Batopilas, Chihuahua. We were told that the municipality (county) was a dry one, except at New Year's. So everyone flocked into town then to drink. At midnight, the Catholic church rang its bell for the New Year's mass. The band stopped playing, the people stopped dancing in the square, and the whole town went into the sanctuary. Probably one out of every three guys walking around behind the seats was drunk.

[silverback1065]

the entire state of indiana every sunday

[roadman65]

Most of North Jersey used to have them when I was growing up. Two Guys used to rope off the departments that sold the items that were not permitted such as clothing.  The rest of the store was open and I remember how weird it looked.  Even Woodbridge Center, Menlo Park Mall (except Pathmark and Arcadia Gardens), and Livingston Mall were not open Sundays up until the early 80's. 

In fact the traffic signals used to flash yellow on South Orange Avenue at the entrance to the mall each Sunday because their was no reason to operate the signals as the detector loops were not yet used in signaling for New Jersey back then. 

I do remember heading to Quaker Bridge Mall near Trenton that had no such laws and stores were all open on Sunday's.  I also remember when liquor stores in NJ were closed on Sundays as well.

Now Bergen County, NJ is the only place I know of that keeps Sunday shopping from happening.

[jeffandnicole]

Ocean City, I've been told, kept that rule because it made it an attractive destination for family vacation business.  Scratch the surface of morality and sometimes it's green underneath. 

There was a vote a few years back to permit the sale and/or permission to allow BYOBs.  It failed to pass.

[6a]

In South Carolina as of 2008, when I moved out of the state, I was not permitted to open my store before 1:30 on Sunday. Even the local Walmarts roped off certain areas of the store containing items forbidden for sale. The law was complex and weird. Although I can't remember every detail, men's socks were allowed but pantyhose was not. A locality could opt out by official resolution (which my county did very conveniently each December) and certain counties (read: tourist areas) were automatically exempt. That last bit lead to a mall in Columbia having a problem...the county line ran through the middle of the mall, so half could open early, half could not! Another Sunday-related one was any employee wanting time off work for church services was allowed that time plus one hour before and after.

Alcohol related: no sales on Sunday, period. Again, I believe this was waived in more popular counties. No package liquor sales after 6pm, but beer could be sold 24 hours the other six days. No sales on Election Day (I think this one was recently repealed.) Right before we moved out the use of mini bottles in bars to pour liquor was ended; that year Jan. 1 was on a Sunday so it was a convenient time for them to retrain the bartenders for pouring out of a proper bottle.

Until Georgia ended its ban on Sunday sales it was possible to go to Applebee's and get shitfaced on beer and drive home, but illegal to buy in a store and take it home to do the deed.

Edit: does Indiana still have the weird stuff like not being able to buy cold beer at a grocery store and no milk sales at liquor stores, and something about the bar portion of a restaurant being separate from the rest?

[tdindy88]

Correct about Indiana not being able to get cold beer at a grocery store or a convenience store. I still get curious when I see cold beer at a gas station when I go out of state. And of course there's the whole Sunday thing....

[bulldog1979]

In Michigan until a few years ago, alcohol sales on Sundays were prohibited before noon. At one point, the law was changed to make that noon Eastern Time statewide, even though the four counties that border Wisconsin are on Central Time. (The change allowed those counties to start selling alcohol on Sundays at 11 local time, the same as Wisconsin, and thus not lose out on sales.) Then in 2010, the state expanded Sunday sales to the same hours as the rest of the week. Some cities opted out of the looser restrictions though, as noted below. I recall that Sunday sales required the purchase of a permit connected to the main liquor license, so in theory even if a city didn't ban alcohol sales, a specific store might not be allowed to sell because they didn't purchase the extra permission to do so.

From the apartment I had in the city of Wyoming, the Meijer in Grandville was the closest to me. Grandville banned Sunday alcohol sales completely, so if we wanted anything, we had to drive to a different store in Wyoming or Grand Rapids.

As for car sales, Michigan bans Sunday sales in counties with a population of 130,000 or more. Those dealership owners who observe the Sabbath from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown may sell on Sunday. I've never seen any dealers in the other counties open on Sundays even though they're allowed the option.

Michigan used to have some Sunday restrictions on hunting in certain counties until 2003.

[lordsutch]

Oxford, Mississippi used to be completely dry on Sundays (surrounding Lafayette County apparently forbids beer sales, but liquor and wine are OK... go figure); they finally repealed that in 2013.

Artificially cold beer sales at convenience/grocery stores were forbidden too; one story (perhaps apocryphal) is that once upon a time, a relative of the mayor owned the biggest ice seller in town. Another story is that they wanted to discourage drunk driving, since MS lacked an open container law. Some rather clever retailers got around the rule somewhat by either (a) cranking the AC in the summer or (b) operating outdoors in the winter.

Further from home: walked to Mexico with some friends the day before their 2009 federal election, found out about la ley seca, turned around and walked back to the States.

[DeaconG]

PA restricts the sale of alcohol, especially on Sundays and holidays (although Sunday sales have loosened up a bit).  Because wine & alcohol is sold thru state stores and is relatively expensive with a relatively limited selection, people tend to flock to the surrounding states to make their purchases.

They do open on Sundays now-my brother can attest to that (he's worked with the PLCB for over 35 years and is retiring this summer to get ahead of the privatization wave).  And as far as 'limited selection', apparently you've never gotten hold of their catalogs (which are free)...and if it isn't in the catalog, they'll move heaven and earth to get it.

Now there are areas of the Florida Panhandle that are dry on Sundays...however, in the town I stayed in during the 70's (and visiting through the 80's), there was one individual that would sell you beer and booze on Sunday "under the table"...so if you were thirsty, that's where you went.  Of course he got busted...and he kept re-opening, and folks kept going.  He passed away many years ago and the place is now closed.

[hbelkins]

In my youth, Lexington, Ky. did not permit department stores or other general merchandise stores to be open on Sundays. People from Lexington would flock to Richmond or Winchester, neither of which had such a prohibition.

In terms of alcohol sales, Kentucky still has local option laws that provide a  wide variety of places where alcohol (and what types of alcohol) can be sold. In some places, only towns (like Irvine in Estill County) are wet, in other places, the entire county is wet. I happen to live in a dry county and I can remember at least two local option elections in which the majority voted to stay dry.

I still don't understand Pennsylvania's laws regarding beer sales. I was astonished to walk into a Walmart in suburban Pittsburgh a few years ago and see no beer for sale. You can buy beer at a bar to take home, but not at a Walmart-type store or at a convenience store.

[corco]

There are still a lot of old, Prohibition era "blue laws" as they're often called on the books in many states.

What are some of the stricter or odd liquor laws you've encountered in your travels?

Two stand out to me, and maybe it's culture shock coming from California where it's pretty easy to find liquor at anytime.

Utah - I was visiting Utah, and remember really wanting a good beer to relax with that evening at my hotel.  Apparently, and perhaps this has changed, any beer that's more than 4.0% ABV (so basically anything with more alcohol than a Coors or Dud Light) has to be bought in a state run store.  Said stores are also closed on Sunday.  This was the strictest liquor laws I've encountered.

Louisiana - For being in the south, they seem a bit more relaxed, evidenced by the drive through daquiri establishments and liquor stores I saw.   Maybe this is just rumor, but I heard a PASSENGER is allowed an open container, but obviously a driver they frown upon. 

Prior to 2009, Utah had really archaic laws related to bars as well. Bars were illegal, they were considered "private clubs" and you had to pay a membership fee in order to be able to enter them to drink, making it kind of a pain for out of towners.

But yeah, you still can only buy 3.2 beer in gas stations and things and have to go to the state store to get anything stronger.

Wyoming had what I always thought were odd liquor laws- no beer or anything in gas stations or grocery stores. The liquor store had to be in a separate facility, so if Albertson's sold liquor it would be in a separate room next door. Drive-thru liquor stores were totally legal though, and there is still no statewide open container law in Wyoming, though most municipalities have adopted open container laws. 

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Minnesota doesn't allow car sales or liquor store sales on Sundays either. You can still buy shit beer at grocery stores and gas stations after noon on Sunday though.

[Alex]

Delaware does permit passengers to drink in the vehicle (there are 5 states total that allow it, and I think we've already touched on 3 of them).  This oddity about Delaware is in contrast to their otherwise very strict and limited sale of alcohol otherwise - No alcohol can be sold after 1am, and last call must be made no later than 12:45am (makes for an early evening, especially when you're from nearly every other state that permits later serving hours).  All packaged beer/wine/alcohol can only be sold in liquor stores.  They used to restrict sales on Sunday, but that no longer exists.

I remember the Sunday restriction in Delaware. Elkton, MD (State Line Liquors comes to mind) was close enough to offset it if you wanted beer for football or wrestling pay-per-view get togethers.

[jeffandnicole]

I still don't understand Pennsylvania's laws regarding beer sales. I was astonished to walk into a Walmart in suburban Pittsburgh a few years ago and see no beer for sale. You can buy beer at a bar to take home, but not at a Walmart-type store or at a convenience store.

Regarding PA:

In general, 6 packs can only be sold by retailers that have dining areas.  Yes, that's right: A place where one normally would sit down and drink a beer in normal states is where they must go to purchase a 6 pack in PA.  If you want a case of beer, you have to go to a beer distributer.  But, you can only buy cases at distributers...you can't buy a 6 pack there.

6 packs tend to be unusually expensive in PA.  Cases are fairly reasonably priced.

Also, you are limited to the number of 6 packs you can buy...you can only purchase 2 at a time.  They may have 12 packs, but it's fairly rare.  If you want more than that, your buddies have to come with you...or you have to go to a distributer.

Where does this other quantities of beer, such as 18 packs?  Due to the laws, they can't be sold in PA!

Note: In a few other states, including Delaware, you can't walk into a Walmart and buy beer either.  NJ is generally that way - there are rare cases where you can walk into a supermarket and purchase beer/wine/liquor amongst the other goods, but they're few and far in between.  For the most part, you have to go to a liquor store to purchase beer/wine/liquor.  Ironically, the selection of alcohol in NJ liquor stores is better than what you will find in Walmart, because more space can be dedicated to craft brews and liquors that tend to be slower sellers, or sold in a store because the owner/manager knows their locals and clientile.

[bandit957]

In the early '80s, Campbell County, Ky., enacted a ban on selling beer and many other common items on Sundays. That's their idea of "limited government." Previously it was legal. This ban was passed by local government officials - not a voter-approved referendum.

The ban was finally repealed in the mid-2000s.