Raleigh

In 1961, the U.S. Supreme Court decided an issue that even today can divide conservative and liberal, secular and religious.

A group of employees in Maryland had challenged blue laws limiting commercial activity on Sundays. The laws appeared ripe to be overturned, but a funny thing happened.

Liberal Chief Justice Earl Warren and the court's majority upheld the Sunday closing laws, finding that the intent of blue laws had evolved beyond their religious origins, that many now had secular purposes. One example given: It was good for government to encourage a day off from work for rest and relaxation.

In the years since, many ordinances and laws that limited business openings on Sundays fell by the wayside. Others remain. And in a more culturally and religiously diverse America, tension regarding those laws also remains.

In North Carolina, proposals to repeal a ban on Sunday hunting have been hotly debated. Church groups have been among the most vocal opponents. Some hunter groups argue that the ban limits many hunters to pursuing their pastime to a single day of the week, Saturdays.

The debate appeared to be put on the back burner a bit after opponents spoke up during a series of public hearings held by the Wildlife Resources Commission. Since then, the commission has decided to allow bow hunting on Sundays.

But a New Hanover County state senator, Democrat Julia Boseman, reopened the debate after filing a bill that would allow all forms of hunting on Sundays.

Another bill filed in the General Assembly would go after another Sunday taboo -- liquor sales .The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, would allow the local boards that control ABC stores to decide whether or not they open on Sundays.

Right now, state law prohibits the stores from opening on Sundays. In communities that allow beer, wine and mixed drink sales, you can't buy any of those until after midday on Sundays.

So, are these laws relics, ready to be tossed into the dustbin with those other blue laws that once caused department stores to lock their doors on Sundays?

Maybe. But maybe it's worth considering the idea behind that Supreme Court ruling made nearly 50 years ago. Are there secular concerns behind the Sunday hunting and Sunday liquor sales bans?

Hunters may argue that they shouldn't be limited to the pursuit of their pastime any more than fishermen and golfers. But you don't shoot a deadly weapon when golfing or fishing.

Large swaths of North Carolina are no longer rural, and in those places, hikers, mountain bikers and others want a day when they know that it's safe to enter the woods. Even in rural North Carolina, churchgoers say they don't want to hear gun blasts during Sunday services.

As for alcohol sales, perhaps government has a role in promoting sobriety for one day of the week.

Just like in 1961, casually dismissing blue laws isn't so easy upon closer inspection.

Scott Mooneyham writes for Capitol Press Association. Contact him at smooneyh@ncinsider.com