GREENWOOD, S.C. -- On Sunday morning in Greenwood County you can buy ice, but not a cooler; toilet paper, but not a plunger. That's because those items fall under blue laws, which prohibit retail sales not deemed as necessary before 1:30pm on Sunday.

The laws were put into place years ago to ensure that people would take time to go to church. Now the County Council is trying to do away with the laws.

The council said Wednesday not everyone goes to church, and if they do it is not always on Sunday. Mainly, though, the council said the laws keep big retailers from wanting to move into Greenwood County, which would ultimately provide more jobs.

"Prohibition of Sunday sales was the ultimate reason people left Greenwood County to go to other counties who did not have Sunday blue laws in effect," said Greenwood County Manager Victor Carpenter. "So we felt we were loosing jobs and business to other counties."

Opinions on the issue are mixed.

"It's an old fashioned kind of law, and those sort of things need to be pushed out the door," said Patrick Lutz, a Greenwood County resident.

"I believe in the blue laws," said Doris, who also lives in Greenwood County. "I would like to see them stay, but at the same time I would like to see more business come to the county."

People who are opposed to getting rid of blue laws said it's a moral issue, and that keeping them in place gives the county a way to set aside time for Sunday worship.

The third and final reading of the issue will be on Oct. 20, when the council is expected to do away with the laws. Council members said that the sale of alcohol on Sunday will still be prohibited.