RALEIGH. (AP) ó Whether sanctioned by law, tradition or God, Sunday is still a day of rest in North Carolina.
But the Christian Sabbath has become more about recreation and revenues as the state’s population increases. A suburban discount store or park can be as crowded Sunday morning as a church service. Religions of some residents may place Friday or Saturday on a sacred pedestal. Others practice no religion at all.
“We live increasingly in a multicultural society in North Carolina, just as anywhere else,” said Stephen Chapman, an associate professor at Duke Divinity School and expert on relations between church and government.
So it’s not surprising that more North Carolina officials and interest groups are talking about eliminating laws that prohibit hunting and liquor sales at Alcoholic Beverage Control stores on Sundays, especially with the bad economy and budget shortfalls. Repeal bills have been filed this year at the General Assembly.
“Sunday is not the Sabbath for everyone and we don’t think the government should decide what day is the Sabbath,” said Ben Jenkins with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, which is pushing legislation to end the liquor store ban. The group estimates the state could gain up to $9.9 million annually in extra taxes and profits with the repeal.
The Sunday restrictions are remnants of “blue laws” dating to Colonial times but still exist in some states to restrict shopping hours or ban automobile sales. In North Carolina, alcohol already can’t be sold at licensed restaurants or beer and wine in retail stores where allowed until noon. The idea is that drinks shouldn’t be available when people attend church.
Alcoholic Beverage Control stores have been closed on Sundays since the 1930s. The Sunday firearm hunting ban on state-regulated land has been in place since 1869.
North Carolina is one of 11 states that restrict Sunday hunting, although the Wildlife Resources Commission four weeks ago agreed to allow for Sunday bow hunting. A complete repeal would require the Legislature’s OK.
Shannon Idol of Wilmington said he works six days a week at his construction business and doesn’t have time to hunt. Democratic Sen. Julia Boseman, whose constituents include Idol, filed the Sunday hunting repeal bill.
“Everybody who is like me it’s a shame that we don’t have that opportunity because people really only have Sunday off,” said Idol, who attends church.
Boseman’s bill was filed two months ago but still hasn’t been heard in committee. She said she would be open to a compromise, such as allowing hunting after 1 p.m.
A 2006 consultant’s report to the wildlife commission said hunting is a $1 billion industry for the state, but two-thirds of the general population opposed lifting the Sunday ban, including a slight majority of hunters. Religious views were the main reason for the opposition, the report said.
“We’re in the Bible belt and obviously we would have more in revenue. But I believe in taking the Sabbath off,” said R.J. Allen, who with his brother owns a 600-acre preserve in Bladenboro that wraps up the six-month hunting season this week. “You can hunt on Saturday and mow your grass on Sunday. Make your priorities and pick them.”
The ABC stores bill may have more momentum because it was filed by powerful Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, and has the liquor industry’s support. It would give the state’s 159 local ABC boards the option to open their stores on Sundays.
Thirty-six states now allow Sunday liquor sales, including 14 added in the last seven years, the Distilled Spirits Council said. Bill supporters say alcohol already is sold in other retail locations in their districts on Sundays.
Conservative Christian groups counter that lifting the ban would lead to a higher incidence of drunk-driving accidents and alcoholism.
If the bill passed the Senate, House ABC committee chairman Rep. Ray Warren, D-Alexander, said he wouldn’t block the bill from being considered even though he’s opposed to the idea.
“Sunday has been a day of rest,” Warren said, adding that alcohol is “available on Saturday and available on Monday and throughout the days of the week, and that should be sufficient for most people.”
Chapman, the Duke professor, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see increased support to repeal the liquor and hunting bans compared to the past because fewer Christian churches are interested in stressing cultural rules that aren’t essential to the core of their faith.
“There’s been a heightened awareness of the problem of legalism,” he said.
But lawmakers should consider whether they want to create a culture that pressures its citizens to work constantly because store hours and activities expand, Chapman added.
“If we move to the point where we just work seven days a week because that is the way we can sell and buy the most products and make the most money, then we’ve lost something really essential as a society,” he said.