bluelaw(蓝色法规)和blueskylaw(蓝天法)原来是美国殖民时期的清教徒所订的法律,禁止在星期天跳舞、喝酒等,以后转用为有关个人行为的严格规定,如禁止公务员涉足酒家、舞厅、夜总会、或不该接受款宴等等:Abluelaw,thuscalledbecauseitwassupposedlywrittenonbluepaperwhenfirstenactedbyPuritan(清教徒)coloniesinthe17thcentury,prohibitssellingofcertaintypesofmerchandise,orretailorbusinessactivityofanykind,oncertaindaysoftheweek(usuallySunday
InTexas,forexample,bluelawsprohibitedsellinghousewaressuchaspots,pans,andwashingmachinesonSunday,until1985
ManysouthernstatesprohibitsellingalcoholonSunday
(Thereisnoactualevidencefortheprintingoftheselawsonbluepaper;Connecticutiswidelybelievedtohavedoneso,butthesurvivingdocumentsareonthesamepaperasotherstatelaws,andthereisnocontemporarymentionofbluepaper
Nonetheless,thenameisshortandclear,andunlikelytochange
)Likely,allbluelawstemsfromthefirstsuchstatutese