Blue Laws

Hey friends haven’t you ever heard about Blue laws? What the relation between Blue a colour with the law? Actually blue law is not a law that is related with colours but it is a kind of practice that restrict the trade of particular goods mainly in Sunday for the promotion of Christian Sabbath (Weekend Holidays).Before going to Blue Laws we must know what is Sabbath? The term Sabbath has originated from the Hebrew word “abat” means “to cease rest.”The Sabbath is the seventh day of week on which Jews and Christians believes that God rested after creating everything. The Christians and Jews consider this day as the day to meet for services to worship their God and often, rest themselves. And in order to protect and promote Sabbath, Blue Laws came. The concept of blue law is practiced mainly in United States and Canada and it aims to promote religious standards and moral values. Under Blue laws there occur restrictions on Sunday shopping on products like alcohols, beverage, and automobiles and occasionally on all commerce. During the early period Blue Laws outlawed Sunday work, travel, housework, cooking, clothing people could wear, and even sexual intercourse. It is believed that blue is the colour of paper upon which the code of laws was printed and hence these laws were come to be known as Blue laws. It was also believed that the term “Blue” in Blue law came from the proverb that “true blue will never stain” like that a man of fixed principles and resolutions, firmly grouped upon reasonableness and justice of such principles, will not be easily broke up from them or it cannot the interchanged by any evil interaction. So the term law was originated under a confident belief that these laws cannot be interchanged or distracted and is for promoting religious standards and beliefs. And blue is the symbol to summarize something of higher quality that cannot be destroyed easily and hence the name Blue law came. Majority of the people were still in the beliefs that the Blue Laws were first quoted in a Blue paper and hence the term Blue Law coined out.

Blue Laws often prohibit the trading activities during certain hours and there are exceptions to the prohibition of commerce on grocery and drugstores. The practice of providing rest on Sunday was come to establish was in Rome. Blue law was first enacted in 1600 on the colony of Virgina and its main aim was to require the attendance of people towards church on Sundays which they considered as their worshipping holiday. Farmers were excluded from this Blue law provision. The early provision of Blue law application includes restrictions on sale of Alcohol, sports, barbering and general labour. But later it had spread through all the sections of trade and commerce. Strict Punishments were provided for persons who were doing non-religious activity on Sunday under Sabbath rules which were a great example of how a state government can socially control citizens for promoting religious standards and beliefs. In the case of McGowan v Maryland (1961) several employers of a discount department store sold a few items like floor wax and loose-leaf notebook to the customers on Sunday. The government of Maryland observed that these persons had violated Maryland’s Blue law which only allows certain items such as drugs, tobacco, newspaper and some food stuffs to be sold on Sunday. The court in this case had held that Blue laws did not violate the free exercise clause because the employee alleges only economic injury and infringement on their own religious practice. The court had also observed that the blue law did not violate the division between church and state where the Maryland’s laws based on secular rather than religious state interests. The aim of blue laws are to improve the health, safety ,recreation and general well being of citizens and its present purpose of the laws is to provide a uniform day of rest for all. And in fact this day is of particular significance for various Christian sects do not bar the state from achieving its secular goals. Another case is R. v Big M Drug limited (1985) in this case Big M Drug mart ltd was charged with carrying on the sale of goods on Sunday violating the act of Lord and Big M was acquitted for trial and judge of the trial court founded that the lord’s act was a criminal statute violating the acts under section 2(a) of charter. And the court held that the provisions of Blue law was unconstitutional and also blue law is violated because Big M Drug mart ltd is a corporation rather than a natural person so it cannot have a religion and therefore religious freedom was not violated.

The Blue law is also practiced in Muslims countries since the term Blue law is not common there. In the city of Basra in Iraq the city council banned all alcoholic sells on Islamic holiday but the Christian merchants protested against this and it got the law over tuned and Christian Merchants raised their victory and they commented their victory as “Freedom has won this time in Iraq. Also in most of the Islamic countries no people are allowed to eat, drink or smoke in public during the holy fast month of Ramzan. Also during the period of fasting restaurants are ordered to be closed. So we can undoughtfully say that Blue laws were powerful battalions to promote religious faiths. Most of the countries were using Blue laws as equipment against Alcoholism under the religious customs and practice. But the practice of Blue Law is differing from state to state in United States. In every state of United States the sale of alcohol generally stops at a certain times in morning. In New York alcohol may not be sold between three and eight o'clock in stores on Sunday. In Ohio the selling of alcohol on Sunday requires a special license to sell, alcohol was outlawed in the state of Massachusetts till 2004.In this way different states in United States practicing different kinds of Blue laws that have changed at that time. Some states represent Blue Law as Sunday closing laws in order to exist them in general level. The practice of Blue Law started fading by 1985 and by 2004 only some of the states were practicing it by giving the importance as a religious custom. The main reason for the fading of Blue Law is that it is a religious custom not a Constitutional law. Because in highly populated states like New York the population contains all kinds of people like Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Atheists etc.

By the beginning of 21st century the practice of Blue Law and become less importance and most of the liquor stores started opening on Sundays. Even some of the states in US are still practicing it. In some liquor stores hours of sales are limited as compared to Saturdays and other weekdays. But even today some European countries were still following Blue Laws because religion is given more importance in European countries rather than America. The one reason for its diminishing was in the 21st century it was not become strictly religious in nature as compared to the 19th and 20th century and also these kinds of law didn’t have any constitutional support. In fact the Blue Laws had a played a major role in promoting religious faiths and beliefs and also act against alcoholism. Such kinds of law should be needed for Religious and Social welfare. The ultimate aim of Blue Law is a secular aim to close particular businesses on a given day in observance of a simple day of rest.

State responsibility for health

The history of medicine as a science reveals that is has grown with intuition, observation and interpretation in the form of predictions and diagnosis depending upon age old experiences.  Its development has taken place in stages when it has drawn not merely from biological and natural sciences but also very richly from traditional cultures and social and behavioral sciences.  Thus medicine, inter alia is a social system with definite social goals. Every culture has developed a system of medicine and the medicine is an important part of every culture.  Hence there exists an organic relationship between medicine, human advancement and health.  This relationship is well exemplified by the development of Unani Medicine, Acupuncturing system of treatment and other ways of treatment in various parts of the world in different periods of history, each characterized by its own specific culture.  In view of this relationship of medicine with culture a correct assessment of the state of health of a place at a certain time cannot be had without a serious account of the prevailing law and policies of that place.

Women's rights in Christianity - Some reflections on divorce law

The classical art and literature describe femininity in most unpalatable language.  Attempts, to reverse this trend very early turned into Woman's Liberation movement.  As a result a feeling that the social and political conditions hitherto operating around women should change assumes a meaning. In order to usher in a area of social equality men and women nourish a feeling wide to redefine woman's rules at contemporary times.  As a result two distinct trends may be ostensibly discerned.  Firstly it is realized that gender equality might not be achieved unless the rights of women are delineated and guaranteed at various visible levels of social life. Secondly, the plethora of enactments that have remained in circulation irrespective of geographic, communal and ethical considerations, if are manifestations of status efforts to ameliorate general conditions of woman, should be implemented at the earliest.  But the fact is that it is difficult to read masculine intentions behind these legislations, because most of the times they have proved to be opaqe, as a result, in pluralist societies the bounties of freedom remains denied to women.

At home, equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex may sound foreign to the cross section of women because unlike Christina west, the Indian society is more male dominated.  Indian males conveniently follow double standards regarding women.  On the one hand they call her Durga and Kali and go to worship her and the other, she is raped in public like Drupadi, given up like Sita and appease other, burnt like Roop Kanwar amidst the beat of drums and rejoicing. Indian women continue to hold in one hand rattle to amuse her weeping child continue to hold in one hand rattle to amuse her weeping chid and a cup of tea to please her husband and yet in another hand a broom to clean up the house.  Thus she does to prove herself to be facimile of the multi hand goddess.  He hands multiply too as and when new roles are assigned to her.  This condition by large remaining unchanged on account of Indian man's vision of femininity is geared around imprudence and inability of women to cater to needs of the times.

When might the dawn of freedom break upon Indian women albeit wife assumes great significance?  They may legitimately doubt the gender intentions because by merely propagating equal rights and equity the miseries and sufferings of women have been candidly covered up by men, and this policy continues to flourish at ad infinitum.  The fact is that men have historically been reluctant to rub their shoulders with women.  They have been even denied the right to life and the State has failed to take note of their miserable plight in real life.  Atrocities on women have become a regular feature of life, which attract press spotlights, yet fail to generate any public remorse.  If their life is unsafe, so have been the Constitutional Promises - right to life and liberty, equality and non discrimination on the basis of sex, Woman, for example for no fault of here's is deprived of her property rights under various personal laws. She is burnt alive in case of her failure to bring dowry to her in laws. It is common for the courts to restitute her against will no matter the wife may have to remain away from matrimonial home for a reasonable cause.  Within the precincts of home she receives beating in gift for wedlock.  The sex based discriminatory provisions as such continue to remain on statute books irrespective of any communal considerations.  The confusion is multiplied where courts come forward and weave elaborations favoring male interests than female needs, that too in the teeth of constitutional promises and guarantees like right to equality.  In the face of such nontraditional any talk about equality, in particular, in the nook and corner of the bench and bar, is nothing less than exaggeration if not illusion.  It is bound to breed perpetual discrimination, which may wreck a catastrophe because woman have already provided their strength to impose prohibition through Arrack movement- and forced the Andhra Pradesh to go dry.  No nation shall progress if it suffers pain in the neck nor might it claim honor among galaxy of nations if half of its population is cowed down officially or unofficial by the rest half.