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Article published: Nov 25,
2006 Clarendon
authorities won’t enforce blue laws
With shopping for the
holiday season in full swing, Clarendon County store owners have extended
shopping hours to include opening earlier on Sunday, when morning shopping is
protected by the state’s blue laws.
The laws make it unlawful for
businesses to sell certain items prior to 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Before
Thanksgiving, signs began popping up on doors of businesses in Clarendon County
announcing early morning Sunday hours.
How will local law enforcement
handle the matter?
“Will I require my officers to enforce the blue laws?
Negative,” said Manning Police Chief Randy Garrett on Tuesday. “We have too much
to do to waste law enforcement’s time checking packages to see if an item is
purchased at the wrong time.
“I think the taxpayers of this town would
rather have me enforcing the laws that are causing the most problems day in and
day out instead of worrying about what was purchased before 1:30 (p.m.) on
Sunday,” he said.
Chief Deputy Joe Bradham of the Clarendon County
Sheriff’s Office agreed.
“We are sworn to uphold the laws of South
Carolina, and we do that every day of the year,” Bradham said Tuesday. “We
aren’t going to be monitoring stores to see if they have sold an incorrect item.
We’ll be chasing the active criminals.”
Bradham and Garrett agreed that
the blue laws are confusing.
“You can buy food, but you can’t buy a can
opener to open the food,” Bradham said. “You can’t buy a suit, but you can buy a
Clemson or Carolina T-shirt.”
With limited staffs, Garrett said, it would
cost the city money to monitor the Sunday morning sales and he doesn’t have the
staff to do it.
“You have to prioritize,” Garrett said. “Are we going to
focus on a burglary or a drug dealer or are we going to worry if John Doe
purchased something he wasn’t supposed to on a Sunday
morning?”
Contact Staff Writer Sharron Haley at shaley@theitem.com or
(803) 435-8511.
