Why can't I buy beer before noon on Sunday (and other asinine laws)

This morning, despite staying up way to late, I still managed to get up and make it to the 8:45 am church service. At 10 am I went to a very interesting Sunday School class on "Making Ethical Decisions in an Unethical World" where we discussed behaviorism. At 11am I was doing some grocery shopping at Super Target. At 11:50am I was in the checkout line with my $95 worth of groceries when I was told I could not buy the six pack of Yuengling for 10 more minutes. What?!?

I wasn't really surprised that such an asinine law exists but I was surprised when I was denied my beer. Had I know this before unloading all my groceries I would have browsed the DVDs for 10 more minutes. Instead I went without (I still have a few left over from my Samuel Adams Summer Sampler case).

Why does such a law even exist though? Why does it matter when I buy my beer? From the best I can tell, laws like these, called blue laws, were written to impose good Christan morals on us. Forget about Jews, Muslims or any other religions and their holy days. Also forget about us good Christians who are just doing some grocery shopping after the early service. In North Carolina the hours you can buy alcohol is outlined in § 18B‑1004. It says that alcohol can not be purchased between 2am and 7am on any day and until 12 pm on Sundays.

That is just stupid.

My other least favorite law lately is the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 which requires me to show ID so I can be tracked when I need some Sudafed (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine) for a cold or allergies. Unlike showing ID to simply prove my age when buying beer, showing ID to buy some cold medicine gets me logged for 2 years. If I were in bad enough shape or if I bought some for my wife or kid for instance, I might get arrested. Read the post on Protectionism and My Stuffy Nose!

State sanctioned murder is legal again!

Wohoo! Today the US Supreme Court ruled states can get back to murdering again. And what better day then during the first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the US? It was a nice FU to the Vicar of Christ! Who really cares What Jesus Would Do (WJWD) after all? It was also great news to follow the Amnesty International report on world executions yesterday showing us that the US is only 5th in the world with a mere 42 executions last year. China is killing us (pun intended) with 470 executions last year. We are also well behind the other 3 above us: Iran with 317, Saudi Arabia with 143 and Pakistan with 135 executions last year.

There has been a moratorium on executions essentially nationwide until today. It has been in effect since the case Baze v. Rees, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Corrections (PDF Opinion) was brought before the court last September. This was the first time since 1890 that a challenge to the method of execution has been brought before the court making the decision even more important. The court's decision could have forced states to rethink the way they are killing their citizens.

I guess not. Thinking is overrated anyway.

More reading:

• Baze v. Rees on the SCOTUS Wiki
• "Last Words" of those murdered by the most murderous state in the country, Texas. This statement makes me cry.
• Executions aren't always quick or painless.
• Death Penalty Information Center for stats
• Amnesty International's yearly statistics, Death Sentences and Executions in 2007: Secrecy surrounds death penalty
• Texas likes putting people on death row who aren't murders thanks to their Law of Parties. Kenneth Foster was one of these people. Fortunately his sentence was commuted to life instead.
• Watch The Life of David Gale.