The debate over Sunday liquorsales burned on Wednesday, where backers and detractors of a repeal of the states 80-year-old ban stated their cases to lawmakers, with rationale ranging from profit margins to libertarianism.
The House Commerce Committee held an informational hearing on the bill by Rep. Jenifer Loon, R-Eden Prairie, though no vote was taken. Regardless, dozens of witnesses testified on the bill in a packed hearing room.
Dave Erickson, owner of DEricks Tower Liquors near Lake Vermilion said its frustrating to turn down customers year-round who stop in his adjoining bar and cant take a bottle of wine or six-pack home with them on a Sunday.
As a bar owner, I hate seeing all the visitors, the tourists if you will, come to Minnesota and not be able to enjoy what they probably enjoy at home, Erickson said.
In the midst of a struggling Iron Range economy, where hundreds of miners were just laid off, This would be just one little thing for a little economic growth, he said.
Other liquor store owners, like Terry Furlong, owner of Furlongs liquor in Oakdale, say staying open seven days a week will only create more costs without the profits.
Our current regulations are a fine balance between the desires of consumers, public health and public safety, he said.
Loons Sunday sales bill, like many of its House and Senate companions, failed to receive a hearing before committee deadlines passed, and there is no full Sunday sales repeal in the House liquor reform billthough its possible that it may come up as a floor amendment when the bill is debated on the House floor.
Loon thanked Committee Chair Rep. Joe Hoppe, R-Chaska, for giving the bill a hearing, although absent a vote. She said she respects the opinions of liquor store owners that do not want a repeal in the interests of having a day off, but added that her measure would not force stores to be open. (Liquor store owners insist they would have to remain open to keep up with competition.)
This is not such an easy cut-and-dried issue, she said. Its not my goal to say that every small business who sells liquor has to be open on Sunday. I would never say that. This is just to give other businesses that opportunity.
Link:
Sunday liquor sales debate burns on in House, absent a committee vote
- If Brevity is the Soul of Wit ... - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Gang Brutality Caught on Tape - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Kim Jong Tweet - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fuck Marching - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Monopoly Money - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Mexican Gang War: Both Sides are Cops - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Fruits of Democracy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- MSM Pwned by Amateurs - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- War on Drugs: Collateral Damage - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Goldman Sachs: Ruler of the Universe - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sam Dodson Talks to MotorHome Diaries - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- When God and Government Mix - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Mike Gogulski PWNS Social Security - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stefan Molyneux Interviews Jan Helfeld - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Commander in Chief: Council on Foreign Relations - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Canadian Healthcare Extravaganza - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- My Reply to an Essay on China, the US, and Yu Wan Mei - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Iraq War: A Biblical Event - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Crazy Facts from GovernmentLand - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Remember 9-11 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Then Again... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Hillary Clinton Devestates Pakistan - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Jan Helfeld and Elliot Engel - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Report on attacks against Michael Jude Gogulski 5 September 2009 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- They Are Selling You - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Happy Guy Fawkes Day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Emergency Aid to Seniors? No Way - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Public Option is the Decoy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Should Insider Trading be Illegal? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Reefer Non-Madness - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- U.S. Legalizes Medical Marijuana - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fiddling While Rome Burns - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Massachusetts Should Lower, Not Raise, the Dropout Age - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Limits on Executive Compensation - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Execs Quit to Avoid Pay Limits - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Krugman on China and the Dollar - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Obama's Climate Speech at MIT - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Fed and Policy Uncertainty - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Civil Union versus Civil Marriage - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Medicare Shuns Seniors - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Financial Market Reform - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All You Need to Know ... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Government Health Insurance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cap and Trade Will not Reduce Emissions - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cartoon Commentary - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Did the Stimulus Work? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Letting the Sick Die on the Street - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Renewed Hope for Gridlock? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An Opportunity for Libertarians? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Not-so-Temporary Stimulus - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sausages in Financial Reform - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Dumb Cops, Dumb Laws, Unnecessary Victims - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Fighting Terrorism in Berkeley - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- School Lunch FAIL - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Insane Mortgage Policy - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Comments Welcome - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Obamanomics: Growing the Pie or Dividing the Pie? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Right Meets Left on Criminal Justice - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Is Nuclear the Answer to Global Warming? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Franksgiving: Another Flawed Stimulus - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Dollars for Dishwashers - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Politics of Cap and Trade - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A College for Cannabis - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- George Will, Medical Marijuana, and Legalization - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Bernanke on the Fed - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A Debate About Mexico's Drug Wars - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Doublespeak - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tobacco Prohibition, Bit by Bit - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The U.S. in the Middle East: A Prediction - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Gay Marriage or Civil Union: Would Less be More? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Whither the Estate Tax - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Late-Term Abortions in Nebraska - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Why Climate Negotations Are a Waste of Time - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- "Mild" Gun Control Laws - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Did the Iraq Surge Really Work? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Driver's Ed at Age 52 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Ginnie Mae, Ticking Time Bomb - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Toddler Terrorism - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Policy Insight from David Letterman - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]