In another move to bring Shreveport into the 21st century, city council officially put the kibosh on the city’s blue law in October with a 6-0 vote for the passage of Ordinance 100 of 2017 which rewrote Chapter 10 Sec. 10-172 of the city’s code of ordinances.
Sec. 10-172 – Sunday Sales
Any person may engage at retail on Sundays to the extent authorized by and in accordance with the provisions of this Code, the Shreveport UDC and other applicable ordinances of the City. (State law reference: La. R.S. 26:493)
This means you can now buy alcohol of all kinds so long as they are otherwise legal Shreveport and Louisiana law. No longer will you realize that you forgot your favorite gin or tequila for Sunday football and, presumably, Thrifty Liquor will save a bunch of money on caution tape.
Why they didn’t just remove the section is a puzzle but, effectively, it’s no longer on the books. The bigger lesson here is that we don’t have to fear changing things just because they’ve always been that way – or have been as long as anyone alive can remember. This will be crucial in much bigger ways in the coming years as Shreveport tries to right itself on a number of social and political issues.
Pay attention, the winds are shifting. Change to what could be considered backbone institutions can happen and the world won’t end.
Photo by Jason Sterling Holland.