Poll: How Early is Too Early for Stores to Open on Black Friday?

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Retail workers and shoppers are once again pushing stores to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day instead of starting Black Friday on Thursday, as many plan to do.

Target will launch its Black Friday sale at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, while Sears and Walmart have announced plans to open at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, Best Buy is continuing the midnight openings it started last year.

Critics say Thanksgiving Day openings prevent employees from spending the holiday with their families. Opposition is growing on online petition website Change.org. “C Renee,” a woman who says she’s been a Target employee for six years, started a petition asking the retailer to “give Thanksgiving back to families and not open on Thanksgiving evening.”

“I have worked at Target for six years and I really enjoy my job,” she wrote. “Thanksgiving, though, is one of the three days us retail workers get off a year: a day most all of us spend with family we only get to see on that day.”

The petition so far has more than 150,000 signatures.

The signatures don’t appear to have had much effect. Last year, more than 200,000 people signed another petition from a Target employee.

But what do you think? Should stores open on Thanksgiving Day? Should they open early on Black Friday? Or should they just stick to regular store hours?

Vote in Patch’s poll and then share your thoughts in the comments below.