Buying Beer on Sunday

The Massachusetts State Legislature's imminent attempt to repeal the ban on buying liquor on Sundays is a long overdue move to repeal an obsolete and nonsensical law. Sunday "Blue Laws"--a remnant of Massachusetts' Puritan history--currently allow the sale of liquor on Sundays only within a 10-mile radius of the New Hampshire border and for six weeks during the holiday season.

Some Cambridge retailers have voiced support of the law, claiming it helps them compete against the larger businesses that can afford to open on Sundays. But this logic makes little sense.

Certainly, smaller businesses might find it harder to keep their stores open on Sundays, especially if they have to pay their employees time-and-a-half wages. But the repeal of the law in no way forces these stores into such a position. The fact that only large businesses may be able to sell liquor on Sundays will have minimal--if any--impact on regular week profits earned by smaller establishments.

In any case, this is a decision for private enterprise to make. The Commonwealth has no rational grounds from which to mandate this particular sector of commerce, especially if their sole justification comes from a law predating the Fillmore Administration.

The move to ban the Blue Laws barely squeaked through committee last week, and faces rough going in the House of Representatives. But the Cambridge License Commission should follow suit in lifting the ban, especially since it will ultimately be up to them whether the restriction will be lifted here.