Before I make my customary offensive remarks about states that aren’t California, it should be noted that we here at Asphalt & Rubber are eternally grateful for the fine Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the birthplace of our humble motorcycle news blog. That being said, it’s also good to see that the Keystone State has pulled its head out of its ass long enough to pass a bill (passed in the Senate, with the House still to vote) that would allow motorcycle dealers to sell motorcycles on Sundays, though car dealers will still have to abide by the current legislation.
“I’m not sure why it was ever done,” said State Representative Eugene DePasquale (York County). “I’ll leave it to legislators who were alive when that passed to answer that one.” Talking of keeping the status quo for car dealers, State Senator Richard Alloway II (Adams, Franklin, and York Counties), the bill’s co-sponsor, said, “I have heard a lot of car dealers like to be closed, so it’s a day people can walk lots with no pressure from anyone and window shop.”
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 419 would repeal a 1983 state law in-part, making it legal for licensed motorcycle dealers to sell motorcycles on Sundays, though car dealers would still have to remain closed, likely due to the same puritanical reasons that abound in the Commonwealth (yet the concept of the drive-thru liquor store, or “brew-thru”, remains in ample abundance — go figure).
The idea behind this adoption of a free-market economy stems from the realization that Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and some counties in Maryland (essentially all the important States of the Union that border Pennsylvania) allow their dealers to sell on the Lord’s Day, and thus PA dealers were losing sales from the heathens that did commerce with those dealers who were surely to spend an eternity in damnation.
For its part, Pennsylvania could be one step closer to ending the hypocracy in the motorcycle industry that is the “race on Sunday, sell on Monday” sales mantra. How many dealerships in the great birthplace of our nation who will actually monopolize on this opportunity, should it be realized, remains to be seen (insert a metaphor about a horse and water here). Disgruntled citizens of Ohio and West Virginia, please leave your remarks in the comments section so we all can make banjo noises and jokes about your college football teams. Thanks.
Source: Milwauke Journal Sentinel
Comments