In one New Jersey county, you can buy groceries on a Sunday but not a couch. New York still bars most Sunday sales of raw meat, and Texas car dealers have to pick one weekend day to sell. Seven leftover laws like these follow, and a few of them work very differently than the legends claim.
New York Still Bars Sunday Sales of Raw Meat
New York’s Sunday sales statute still says uncooked “flesh foods or meats,” fresh or salted, may not be publicly sold, displayed for sale or delivered on Sunday. The same section contains exceptions for many other foods and goods, so this is not a blanket grocery-store shutdown. It is a narrow restriction written into a much broader Sabbath-era law.
Bergen County Keeps Its Retail Ban
Bergen County, New Jersey, retained its Sunday Closing Law by referendum. The county rule covers categories such as clothing, furniture, appliances and building supplies, while food, drugs and prepared meals are exempt. That distinction matters: shoppers can buy groceries on Sunday, but a neighboring aisle may contain merchandise the store cannot sell that day.
Louisiana Leaves the Choice to Local Voters
Louisiana does not impose one statewide Sunday shopping ban through this provision. Instead, state law allows a parish or municipality to regulate business openings or merchandise sales on Sunday after local voters approve the ordinance. The statute is enabling authority, not proof that every Louisiana community has adopted a restriction.
Maine Preserves an Easter Closure for Large Stores
Maine’s blue-law framework has many exceptions, and qualifying large stores may ordinarily open on Sundays. A surviving large-store rule draws a firm holiday line: stores with more than 5,000 square feet of customer selling space may not open on Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Because Easter always falls on Sunday, the law still creates a real Sunday closure for that class of retailer.
Massachusetts Protects Sunday Worker Choice
Massachusetts retailers may open on Sunday, but the state’s blue laws haven’t disappeared. Under current state guidance, many retailers cannot require employees to work Sunday or punish them for refusing. A separate Sunday premium-pay rule ended on Jan. 1, 2023. The remaining rule is primarily a worker-protection measure, not a shopping ban.
North Dakota Repealed Its Morning Ban
North Dakota once required many retailers to wait until noon on Sunday. House Bill 1097 repealed those sections in 2019, allowing businesses to open Sunday mornings if they choose. One limited protection remains: certain retail agreements executed before Jan. 1, 2019, cannot force a business to open on Sunday. The status here is repeal, not an active shopping-hours ban.
Texas Vehicle Dealers Must Pick a Weekend Day
Texas law does not force every motor-vehicle dealer to close on Sunday. Its current vehicle rule prohibits selling or offering motor vehicles on both consecutive Saturday and Sunday. Dealers may operate on one of those days, but not both. Occasional private sales are exempt, so the rule targets businesses that sell vehicles rather than every person selling a car.
Dates Matter More Than Legends
Blue-law trivia becomes misleading when you strip away its legal status. “Active,” “limited,” “local option” and “repealed” describe very different realities, even when the rules share a Sunday origin. Checking the jurisdiction and the latest statute date turns a strange historical claim into useful information instead of recycled folklore.