Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84 exptools; site ihlpa.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!ihlpa!stanwyck From: stanwyck@ihlpa.UUCP (Don Stanwyck) Newsgroups: net.legal,net.religion,net.politics Subject: Re: Sunday sales of cars Message-ID: <239@ihlpa.UUCP> Date: Thu, 16-May-85 14:20:14 EDT Article-I.D.: ihlpa.239 Posted: Thu May 16 14:20:14 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 17-May-85 01:35:43 EDT References: <1192@opus.UUCP> <28@denelvx.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 30 Xref: watmath net.legal:1706 net.religion:6900 net.politics:9006 > ****************************************************************************** > > > > Here is the example. Here in Colorado, it is against the law to sell liquor > > (and automobiles) retail on Sunday. > > Laws of this sort have been challenged in the past (it seems to me > that the last time was sometime in the 1930's--I don't remember which state). > They were held to be constitutional under the states' powers to regulate > commerce. They also argued (successfully) that the choice of Sunday was not > religiously motivated but the choice the would cause the least disruption > considering the number of people who don't work on that day anyway. > It is now illegal (within the last 90 days) to sell cars/other-motor-vehicles on Sunday in Illinois. The discussions at the time the law was being argued did not ever seem to discuss the issues of church. They proponants (largely car salesmen) said that allowing the dealers to stay open seven days made all dealers stay open seven days in order to remain competitive, and since car salesmen are almost exclusively commission-only paid, this meant that most car salespeople were having to work seven days a week. Thus the car salespeople made it into a labor vs. management issue. It has started its way up through the courts, but every court up through the Illinois Supreme Court has found it legal so far. It is being enforced - a motor home dealer in a local community was cited and forced to close after complaints were called in recently. Apparently he didn't realize that no cars meant no motor homes either. The courts have been saying that it properly falls into a states right to regulate commerce issue.