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Sunday, March 24, 2024

"BUT NEVER NEVER ON A SUNDAY BECAUSE..."

BLUE LAWS VIOLATIONS RAMPANT IN JERSEY CITY

Jersey City, New Jersey (JFK+50) On March 24, 1924, the Associated Press reports the Jersey City Police Department "listed yesterday 80,000 alleged Sunday blue law* violators."

The list includes "picnickers in the city parks, a woman who bought cigarettes and one who had his shoes shined."

According to the AP, these names "will be presented to the Hudson county grand jury."

*Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws or Sunday closing laws restrict or ban certain activities on specific days, usually on Sundays.  In 2022, 28 of the 50 states had restrictions on the sale of alcohol on Sunday.

SOURCES

"80,000 Jersey City Citizens Listed as Blue Law Violaters," The Evening Star, March 24, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/ 

"Sunday Blue Laws," Free Speech Center, www.firstamendment.mtsu.edu/

 
 
Sunday Laws Broadside
Toronto, Canada (1911)
Toronto Public Library