Virginia's shotgun legislating strategies
The Commonwealth of Virginia has accidentally reinstated so-called "blue laws" which allow an employee to demand either Saturday or Sunday off as a "day of rest," fueling fears that "stores, airlines, hospitals and factories might be forced to shut down on weekends," according to the Post.
The Commonwealth is reviewing its options to delay the enforcement of the law, which includes the possibility of a special session of the Legislature. The accidental reinstatement stems from Senate Bill 659, which eliminated "four out-of-state provisions of the blue laws," which force businesses to close up shop on Sundays. The near-unanimously removed provisions, however, also included exemptions for the enforcement of the blue-laws.
This popular yet unknowingly broad law could prove to have been a trend in Virginia's most recent legislative session. Activists are already protesting the enforcement of a sweeping law passed this year that would prohibit "civil unions, partnership contracts, or other arrangements" that "bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage," according to The Advocate.
I'm no lawyer (just the first on a long list of things I'm not), but it seems to me that a law essentially aimed at invalidating a wide range of contracts between two men or two women might, just might have some unintended consequences. I'm predicting more on that later.
The Commonwealth is reviewing its options to delay the enforcement of the law, which includes the possibility of a special session of the Legislature. The accidental reinstatement stems from Senate Bill 659, which eliminated "four out-of-state provisions of the blue laws," which force businesses to close up shop on Sundays. The near-unanimously removed provisions, however, also included exemptions for the enforcement of the blue-laws.
This popular yet unknowingly broad law could prove to have been a trend in Virginia's most recent legislative session. Activists are already protesting the enforcement of a sweeping law passed this year that would prohibit "civil unions, partnership contracts, or other arrangements" that "bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage," according to The Advocate.
I'm no lawyer (just the first on a long list of things I'm not), but it seems to me that a law essentially aimed at invalidating a wide range of contracts between two men or two women might, just might have some unintended consequences. I'm predicting more on that later.
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