Should Some Local Stores Close On Memorial Day?
BOSTON (CBS) - Should some stores keep their doors closed on Memorial Day?
A bill filed by state senators Bruce Tarr of Gloucester and Michael Knapik of Westfield would restrict certain retail stores from opening on the holiday.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
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The Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs will hear testimony on the proposal Wednesday.
"If you don't know the meaning of Memorial Day, what it is all about, then you really don't know the meaning of America," Knapik told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
John Hurst of the Massachusetts Retailers Association has a son in the Navy. He appreciates and honors Memorial Day, but thinks store owners have a right to be open and consumers have a right to shop on that day.
"It's voluntary to open. It's voluntary to work. It's voluntary to shop, and I think this is, although well-meaning, it would be very detrimental to local employers, their employees and consumers," Hurst said.
Hurst also noted that Massachusetts residents voted overwhelmingly in 1994 to allow stores to be open on Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July, and he believes that vote should remain the law.
