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THE DRINKS WILL SOON BE FLOWING
Visitors to Room 450 of the state Capitol
could see history being made last week.
That was the room where a Senate
committee chaired by Sen. Butch Miller
(R-Gainesville) held a hearing on legislation
to pave the way for grocery and convenience
stores to sell beer and wine on Sundays.
This has long been an issue of Georgia pol
itics, where the Christian conservatives have
been firmly in command. While they have had
to give ground on most other alcohol-related
issues, the church people have always been
able to stop legislation that would legalize
Sunday package sales.
That may not be the case much longer.
As they considered the fate of SB 10, Miller's
committee heard testimony from the folks
who always show up to support Sunday
sales. What was interesting was the
fact that not a single person spoke
in opposition to the bill—no one
from the Christian Coalition or
the Georgia Baptist Convention
or any similar group.
SB 10 won easy approval
from the Senate committee—the
only no vote came from Sen. Jim
Butterworth (R-Cornelia). Jerry
Luquire of the Georgia Christian
Coalition later conceded that the bill
will be passed by the full Senate and soon
after by the House of Representatives.
Luquire said in a Friday email: ."The Georgia
Christian Coalition today said it was ending its
three-year legislative battle to prevent retail
beer, wine and whiskey sales on Sunday...
The Senate will vote next week and the GCC
expects fewer than 12 Senators to support
their position."
Just like that, an interest group that had
traditionally been very influential in Georgia
politics found that it no longer had very much
power.
Almost every other state has long since
legalized Sunday package sales (we are one of
three remaining holdouts). Georgia for years
has been bleeding retail business in border
cities like Columbus, Valdosta and Augusta as
people who want beer or wine on Sunday drive
across the state line to purchase it. The new
law would put a stop to that.
There will also be some tax benefit to the
state. It has been estimated that Sunday
sales of spirits alone would generate between
$3.4 and $4.8 million in new tax revenue for
Georgia.
A change in the governor's office helped
push the legislation along. Unlike his prede
cessor, the new governor has already said that
if the General Assembly passes a Sunday sales
bill, he will not veto it.
It's also a matter of local government
control. SB 1C merely authorizes cities and
counties that already allow the sale of beer,
wine or liquor to hold referendums in
which citizens would decide whether
they want to allow those sales on
Sundays as well.
In the end, this is a simple
matter of fairness.
I don't attend Baptist Church
services on Sunday, but I have
many friends and colleagues
who do. I respect their right to
practice their faith, and I would
vigorously oppose any suggestion
that there should be a law preventing
them from going to church on Sundays. That
same consideration should be extended to
those who choose other activities. If I should
be in a grocery store on a Sunday afternoon
and want to purchase a bottle of wine or a
six-pack of beer, it's silly to have a law that
says I can't do it or that prevents my local
government from allowing me to ’"^e on the
question.
In a radio interview last week, Gov. Nathan
Deal explained why he wouldn't veto a bill
that would allow referendums on Sunday pack
age sales: "Well, I don't drink. I simply believe
in democracy."
I think that sums it up very well.
Tom Crawford tcrawford@gareport.com
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Open Monday through Saturday
Back by popular demand! Punch Brothers returns with Chris Thile, who, the Washington
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Saturday, February 19 • 8:00 pm
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Box Office 706-542<4400/Toll Free^88§-289-8497/ Online: www.uga.edu/pac
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FEfflOItINI
FEBRUARY 9,2011 • FLAGPOLE.COM 7
