More than two dozen malls and outlets in New Jersey will be open on Thanksgiving, some of them as early as 10 a.m. A state lawmaker wants to stop the movement for opening more stores on the holiday.
State Sen. Dick Codey says he's going to introduce legislation that would ban all retail stores in New Jersey from opening before 9 p.m.
"The public says it's a family day. Let's keep it that way," Codey said. "I think I'm offering a reasonable compromise."
New Jersey Retail Merchants Association president John Holub says that kind of policy is out of touch with the 21st century marketplace.
"It would be one thing if you could also compel the Internet to shut down until 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day," said Holub. "Clearly a retailer wouldn't be opening if the customers didn't want it."
Holub says forcing brick and mortar stores to limit holiday hours would just push more sales to online retailers that are always available.
Codey says the public is on his side.
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"Based on the reaction I've gotten anecdotally from the public they want this. People are saying we don't want to shop on Thanksgiving Day. We want to stay home once dinner is over, have dessert, and just talk to our family and friends, and enjoy the day and not worry about going out and shopping," he said.
