Major Retailer Locks Horns with Texas Over “Discriminatory” Liquor Laws

[Elderberry]

JDSUPRA by Arent Fox 7/27/2021

In a lawsuit filed on June 29, 2021, in Texas state court, a major national retailer alleges that a Texas law restricting its retail locations from selling liquor to consumers violates the Texas Constitution. The retailer is asking the court for a declaratory judgment that Section 22.16 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code is unconstitutional and for an injunction against the enforcement of the statute.
The Statute at Issue

Section 22.16 of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code prohibits public corporations from obtaining permits that allow for the retail sale of liquor in Texas (called “package store” permits) unless the corporation was grandfathered in prior to April 1995. The Texas legislature enacted the public corporation ban one year after a federal court struck down other provisions of the state Code that imposed in-state residency requirements for alcoholic beverage retailers, but legislators argued at the time that the public corporation ban was necessary to “promote accountability” within the retail liquor market, and “to have real human beings who are easily identifiable, who are close to the business, and who ultimately bear personal responsibility for the actions of the package store.”

In its petition to the court, the retailer (a public corporation) argues that Section 22.16 violates the Due Course of Law Clause and the Local and Special Laws Clause of the Texas Constitution. Among other things, the retailer argues that the effect of the public corporation ban is unreasonable and unduly burdensome and that it is meant solely to benefit existing package-store permittees by insulating them from competition. Moreover, it argues that the state arbitrarily excludes some public corporations from the liquor store market, while making exceptions for publicly traded hotel corporations and public corporations that held package store permits prior to 1995 (which were almost exclusively Texas-resident corporations).

More: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/major-retailer-locks-horns-with-texas-1348245/

[240B]

The ban on alcohol sales on Sunday is very literally 'Puritanical Law' from the 1600s.
They banned the sale of alcohol on Sunday because in Christian theology Sunday is God's Day, and you should not be drinking but rather you should be in Church. No alcohol on Sunday is a 'religious Christian theological law' and is not based on any kind of logic nor on any objective rational thought or argument.

Why so many States still adhere to it is a real mystery. Who is benefitting from this? Nobody.

The reason bars close at 1am or 2am comes directly from England. The English factory owners and bosses wanted pubs to close after midnight so the workers would have time to make it to work the next morning. This 'law' is all about the Queen's factory workers getting to work in the morning and is not based on any kind of logic nor on any objective rational thought or argument.

Why so many State still adhere to it is a real mystery. Who is benefitting from this? Nobody.

[Elderberry]

The ban on alcohol sales on Sunday is very literally 'Puritanical Law' from the 1600s.
They banned the sale of alcohol on Sunday because in Christian theology Sunday is God's Day, and you should not be drinking, but rather you should be in Church. No alcohol on Sunday is a 'religious Christian theological law' and is not based on any kind of logic nor on any objective rational thought or argument.

Why so many States still adhere to it is a real mystery. Who is benefitting from this? Nobody.

The reason bars close at 1am or 2am comes directly from England. The English factory owners and bosses wanted pubs to close after midnight so the workers would have time to make it to work the next morning. This 'law' is all about the Queen's factory workers getting to work in the morning and is not based on any kind of logic nor on any objective rational thought or argument.

Why so many State still adhere to it is a real mystery. Who is benefitting from this? Nobody.

This is not about When you can sell at all. Its about Who can Own a Package Store in Texas.

[240B]

This is not about When you can sell at all. Its about Who can Own a Package Store in Texas.

I know what the article is talking about, however, what I wrote is still 'on topic'.
It is about silly alcohol restrictions which make no logical sense.

[Elderberry]

Blue Laws By State 2021

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/blue-laws-by-state

Blue laws are laws designed to restrict certain activities on Sundays (or other specific days) for religious reasons to observe a day of worship or rest. Blue laws also may ban shopping or ban the sale of specific items on Sundays. Blue laws commonly regard alcohol](/state-rankings/alcohol-laws-by-state)

While blue laws may seem unconstitutional because they are based on religion, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled them constitutional by citing that blue laws secure a day of rest for certain workers and guarantee the free exercise of religion.

States with Blue Laws

There are currently 28 states with blue laws, and the laws vary by each state, and different counties occasionally have their own blue laws.

[240B]

BLUE LAWS

Puritan church members in the Massachusetts Bay colony, and later, Congregationalists elsewhere in New England, believed that their contractual relationship with God required them to enforce proper behavior in their communities. This perceived requirement resulted in the enactment of a variety of laws designed to regulate the conduct of all members of society. In its strictest sense, “blue law”* refers to an edict designed to regulate public activities on the Sabbath, which meant Sunday to the Congregationalists of that day. In common parlance, the term blue law was expanded to include several different areas of behavior:

Sabbath Regulations.
The first laws regulating public activities on Sundays were passed in colonial Virginia in the 1620s. Similar laws intended to keep the Sabbath holy were soon adopted elsewhere in America. Typically, all forms of trade or commerce were outlawed. No public entertainment or meetings were permitted, except of course for church services, which often included two-hour services in the morning and the afternoon. Travel on Sunday was banned, except for emergencies. Violators were subject to fines imposed by civil authorities.

(more)
https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1164.html

While blue laws may seem unconstitutional because they are based on religion, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled them constitutional by citing that blue laws secure a day of rest for certain workers and guarantee the free exercise of religion.

Blue laws do NOT represent the free exercise of religion. They represent the free exercise of Christianity, and only Christianity. These are Christian laws made by Christians for other Christians.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Who is this un-named retailer anyway?

It is freedom, not tyranny, that permits citizens of a state or community, or 100 years ago even the US, to restrict sales of alcohol or anything else the way they seem fit.

If this retailer does not like it, build the package stores elsewhere.

[Elderberry]

Who is this un-named retailer anyway?

It is freedom, not tyranny, that permits citizens of a state or community, or 100 years ago even the US, to restrict sales of alcohol or anything else the way they seem fit.

If this retailer does not like it, build the package stores elsewhere.

Walmart Relaunches Fight Against Texas Liquor Laws

Law 360

https://www.law360.com/articles/1399283/walmart-relaunches-fight-against-texas-liquor-laws

[AARguy]

I live in Texas. So I buy my booze during the week. Who cares? Do you have some sort of frenzy on an a Sunday that makes you booze crazy? Gees... come to my house... we have a nice bar... complete with a refrigerated keg... all week. What's the big deal?

[Sighlass]

Blue laws do NOT represent the free exercise of religion. They represent the free exercise of Christianity, and only Christianity. These are Christian laws made by Christians for other Christians.

So one admits this was a country founded on it's Christian roots. Government freedom of religion does not mean it's goal is to be 100% secular. Far from it. It is to be neutral even when religious people want to keep the Sabbath sacred.

[240B]

What's the big deal?

That is exactly the argument that keeps the 'Blue Laws' in place.
Of the more than one hundred list of Blue Laws, for some reason alcohol is the only one most States cling to.
But, alcohol is only one miniscule part of the Blue Laws litany.
I don't think you would feel that way if all the religious laws were enforced.
You cannot buy or sell a vehicle on Sunday.
You cannot buy tools (shovel, hammer) on Sunday.
Businesses are prohibited from opening on Sunday.
Professional Sports are prohibited until after 1pm ... that is to say until after Church.
Bands and or secular music is prohibited on Sunday. - enacted in 1677
You cannot buy or sell a mobile home on Sunday.
Hunting is not allowed on Sunday.
There are many many more ... and all of them are designed to stop you from working or doing anything else so you will go to Church.

Most of these have been repealed decades ago. However, many States still cling to some of them, mostly the alcohol prohibitions.
These restriction may have fit in well in the 1600s. But in 2021 they are a joke. Why? Why do States want to live by 17th century law in the 21st century?

Well of course, the obvious answer is, "What's the big deal?"

[AARguy]

I always liked blue laws. When I was a kid, it wasn't just booze, it was stores in general. Blue laws meant my local mall was closed on Sunday. This allowed our dads to teach us how to drive in a big, open empty parking lot that had lines to practice staying in lane, clearly marked parking spaces to practice parking, stop signs and more without any traffic at all. Blue laws provided a tremendous benefit... generations of safe drivers.