Blue Laws Are Religious Legislation

By Rev. Leon M. Maltby

“Just a word of identification. I am the editor of a national religious weekly, the Sabbath Recorder, published at our publishing house at Plainfield, N.J., the headquarters of the Seventh Day Baptist denomination. I believe that the eyes of the nation are on New Jersey to see whether or not this state deals fairly with the question of Sunday legislation. I hope to be able to report to our nation-wide constituency that this committee has reported unfavorably and ill-advised pending religious legislation.

Assembly bills 22, 152, and 215, acts concerning the observance of Sunday, have been introduced and supported, I believe, by well meaning citizens of this state. The fact that they have been referred to the Committee on Institutions, Public Health and Welfare would seem to indicate that the proposed legislation is for the welfare of all. However, this is religious legislation as is indicated by the titles of the bills and by the wording within the body of each act….”

(this article is an excerpt from the May 1970 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 7, click this link: https://biblesabbath.org/media/tss_161May1970.pdf