16. Blue laws were eased in many states, yet still protected the churches
Across the south and in New England, blue laws gradually eased in many states, though local communities often enforced their own. In Maryland, no professional sporting event was allowed to begin before 1.00 PM on Sunday. Other states eased restrictions on stores opening at the same hour, the logic being that most morning church services were over by that time. Some states enacted laws that allowed the purchase of some items, but denied the right to purchase others on Sunday. It was permissible to purchase diapers in one southern state on a Sunday. Safety pins to secure them were considered hardware, their purchase not allowed.
In Louisiana, it was permissible to purchase a house on Sunday, but the buyer had to wait for another day of the week to purchase the furnishings for the new residence. Several states, including Maine and Pennsylvania, banned hunting on the Sabbath, though in the latter an exception was made for hunting foxes and coyotes, as well as crows. All three were pestilential for farmers. Some states restricted the consumption of alcohol on premises to being allowed only with the consumption of food. A few states banned the sale of automobiles on Sunday, a law supported by many car dealers, as it allowed them to reduce costs by closing one day out of seven.