Tribune editorial: Whether a business is open on Sunday is none of the state’s business
Utah elected officials shouldn’t interfere in decisions that don’t belong to the state.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nothing Bundt Cakes is pictured in the Foothill Village shopping center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday Jan. 7, 2025.
Once again, Utah elected officials of the party that claims to want government to leave private business alone are looking to interfere in decisions that don’t belong to the state.
State Rep. Ken Ivory has proposed a bill that would allow Utah-based owners of franchise businesses to close their stores on Sundays, even if the signed agreement with the corporation in whose name they operate says they must be open seven days a week.
This is none of the state’s business. It only makes sense if one accepts the victimhood argument of some culture warriors who claim that observing a deal freely entered into somehow violates anyone’s religious freedom.
Real freedom of religion means that the state should not step in and establish an official “day of rest or worship.” This bill should be rejected.
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