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It's Happening: The Brunch Bill; Another Step in a Slow, Steady Fade

By Julie Perine on November 13, 2016 from It’s Happening via Connect-Bridgeport.com

Editor’s Note: I have absolutely no resentment or bad feelings toward anyone who supported this city ordinance and had their reasons for doing so, but I wanted to help tell the other side of the story. 
 
For the past several weeks, Bridgeport City Councilman Lowell Maxey has been brave enough to climb out on a limb all by himself – in support of something he believes in.
 
I’ve decided to climb out there with him and I’m sorry I didn’t take off my media hat and do it sooner. I’m sure he would have appreciated some verbal support at the past handful of meetings. To my knowledge – and I’m only at half the City Council meetings – not one member of the public spoke in his support.
 
Recently, Council passed an ordinance in support of the “Brunch Bill,” lifting the ban off alcohol sales 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays in certain establishments – specifically sit-down restaurants, country clubs and similar settings.
 
At each stage of the process, Councilman Maxey consistently voted against the ordinance. 
 
I’ve heard it said repeatedly that we are adults and we should be able to decide when we order a drink. Yes, we are adults and we are provided many, many liberties but laws have been put into place for a reason.
 
I’ve also heard the argument that drinking on Sunday morning won’t send you to Hell. Again, true. But what we’ve seen here in America over the past years and decades is a slow fade; a fade that is inching closer and closer to accommodating self and having less and less respect for the blueprint our Creator put in place – all with us in mind.
 
Also known as Sunday laws, Blue laws date back to the mid-18th century and were designed to restrict or ban Sunday activities for religious reasons in observance of a day of worship or rest. It wasn’t just about alcohol sales. It was also about shopping; restricting sale of certain items on certain days – usually Sunday, but also on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Of course, through the years most blue laws have been repealed in the U.S. However, there are some die hard municipalities. Bergen County, NJ, for example, still bans the sale of almost all items on Sundays. 
 
Some companies have put a stop to Sunday business across the board. Chick-fil-A, for example, chooses to not open its doors. 
 
Many states prohibit selling alcohol on Sundays under the idea that people should be in church on Sunday morning – or at least not drinking.
 
Yes, some people go to church on Saturday – or Wednesday - or Thursday. But I can't help but think that keeping one day set apart from the others is not only the right thing to do, but best for the over-stressed, over-worked and under-rested. And these days, that’s about all of us.
 
Sunday has become just another day of business and traffic, hustle and bustle. We think if we spare it, we can’t keep up. Depending on how you look at it, sometimes falling behind is a way to take a leadership role. Like we tell our kids, it’s not always best to go with the flow.
 
Pun intended.
 
In the big picture, the brunch bill is a small thing. But it’s yet another baby step in that slow, though steady, fade. I wonder what’s next. Chances are, we’ll find out soon.
 
Julie Perine can be reached at 304-848-7200, julie@connect-bridgeport.com or follow @JuliePerine on Twitter! More "It's Happening" HERE.

 



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