<P> For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6: 00 a.m., but in the late 2000s many had crept to 5: 00 or 4: 00 . This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohl's, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for the first time . In 2012, Walmart and several other retailers announced that they would open most of their stores at 8: 00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, prompting calls for a walkout among some workers . In 2014, stores such as JCPenney, Best Buy, and Radio Shack opened at 5: 00 PM on Thanksgiving Day while stores such as Target, Walmart, Belk, and Sears opened at 6: 00 PM on Thanksgiving Day . Three states, Rhode Island, Maine, and Massachusetts, prohibit large supermarkets, big box stores, and department stores from opening on Thanksgiving, due to what critics refer to as blue laws . The Massachusetts ban on forcing employees to work on major holidays is not a religion - driven "blue law" but part of the state's Common Day of Rest Law . A bill to allow stores to open on Thanksgiving Day was the subject of a public hearing on July 8, 2017 . </P> <P> There have been reports of violence occurring between shoppers on Black Friday . Since 2006, there have been 7 reported deaths and 98 injuries throughout the United States . It is common for prospective shoppers to camp out over the Thanksgiving holiday in an effort to secure a place in front of the line and thus a better chance at getting desired items . This poses a significant safety risk, such as the use of propane and generators in the most elaborate cases, and in general, the blocking of emergency access and fire lanes, causing at least one city to ban the practice . Since the start of the 21st century, there have been attempts by retailers with origins in the United States to introduce a retail "Black Friday" to other countries around the world . </P> <P> The states which have official public holidays for state government employees on "The Day After Thanksgiving" include Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin . </P> <P> The news media have long described the day after Thanksgiving as the busiest shopping day of the year . In earlier years, this was not actually the case . In the period from 1993 through 2001, for example, Black Friday ranked from fifth to tenth on the list of busiest shopping days, with the last Saturday before Christmas usually taking first place . In 2003, however, Black Friday actually was the busiest shopping day of the year, and it has retained that position every year since, with the exception of 2004, when it ranked second (after Saturday, December 18). </P>

In which states is black friday a holiday
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