Blue Laws are Stupid, post #6

Paul Lundgren Jun 05, 2012 26 Comments

According to the latest poll by Public Policy Polling, Minnesotans continue to be in strong support of allowing liquor stores to open on Sundays.

Do you support or oppose allowing Sunday liquor sales?
Support …… 59%
Oppose ……. 27%
Not sure ….. 14%

There’s a bipartisan consensus on the issue with Democrats supporting it 61/22, Republicans 46/38, and independents 68/23. The only group that doesn’t support it is elected officials.

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26 Comments

Conrad

about 13 years ago 

That's funny.  I don't understand the point of the law.  It doesn't usually bother me since I don't drink but I do my grocery shopping on Sundays. I made a great menu this week and was excited to try my hand at making some Vodka red sauce so I put it on my shopping list completely forgetting this rule.  Yeah I was a touch disappointed when I figured it out and didn't know what to do.  Driving home, I decided that I was going to post a Facebook update asking if anyone had some vodka, when lo and behold, I passed a Wisconsin exit.  Thank you Hammond Liquor.

in.dog.neato

about 13 years ago 

Sure ... if we were to put it to a public vote instead of letting churchgoing legislators make our decisions for us.

Shane

about 13 years ago 

The groups most against liquor on Sunday are the small independent liquor stores nowhere near the state border and the truck drivers who deliver products to the stores.

Both groups are afraid of having to pay another days wages without gaining additional revenue by being open on Sunday.

They are the ones lobbying the legislators to make the decisions.

De man

about 13 years ago 

Yup. They lobby hard to keep that rule on the books. Anytime it comes up, there will be literature in every liquor store to convince you that it's a really, really bad idea for you, the consumer, to make them, a business, open on Sunday.

BadCat!

about 13 years ago 

If a liquor store doesn't want to hire people to work a Sunday shift, then don't open - simple as that. The law allowing liquor sales on Sunday doesn't mandate liquor sales on Sunday!

Also: Oh noes! You'll be able to stay open an extra day to make more money! The horror!

mnbeerdrinker

about 13 years ago 

What amuses me is that many liquor store owners claim that they will not get any increased sales by being open on Sunday.  Yet tell them the're not required to open on Sunday if the law changes, and they will say they have to be open or they'll lose business.  Which is it?

On the other hand, as a lifelong MN resident, I've learned to plan ahead for purchasing my adult beverage needs.  Passing the "Surly Bill" taproom law was a much bigger deal.

emmadogs

about 13 years ago 

On a hopefully-related-not-threadjacking note:  are grocery stores allowed to sell wine and beer?  If not, why not?  Every other state I've been to allows this.

Terry G.

about 13 years ago 

I hate this law. One thing I always seem to run into is when I need to make a grocery/wine run to the Twin Cities and I'm limited to Saturdays because the wine shops/liquor stores are closed on Sundays. I guess if I didn't have to work the other days of the week I'd have more options.

Terry G.

about 13 years ago 

My previous comment sounds like such a "first world problem" I'm embarrassed now to read the damn thing!

nicolai

about 13 years ago 

@emmadogs I'm pretty sure grocery stores can only sell low alcohol beer.  At one time it might of only been 3.2% beer but I dont think it is anymore.  I could be wrong.  I'm from WI and before I moved here I brushed up on all the liquor laws for MN.  In Milwaukee county (and much of WI) you can only buy beer and liquor till 9 PM every night.  As much as I hate the no sales on Sunday law, I think I hate the taxes on liquor even more.  Beer is so much cheaper in WI.

Shane

about 13 years ago 

Grocery stores selling beer and wine is a bigger threat to the liquor stores than being open on Sunday. Why? Liquor stores make most of their money on beer and wine. This was explained to me by someone whose family owned a liquor store.

If grocery stores are going to sell beer and wine, they might as well sell hard alcohol as well.

The Big E

about 13 years ago 

I'll roll over and play dead on statewide Sunday sales if somebody just rams liquor-in-Lakeside through the state legislature, ok?

brian

about 13 years ago 



We can all be inspired by the Doug Olafson Story. 
Somebody made this in 2004 for the 48 hour film project. It's long, but the song at the end is pretty good.

Paul Lundgren

about 13 years ago 

If the power of Zubaz can't save us, I don't know what will.

Barrett Chase

about 13 years ago 

I'm fairly certain that supermarkets and gas stations still sell 3.2 beer. 

Interesting fact: "3.2 beer" means that the beer contains 3.2% alcohol by weight. The percentage you normally see on beers at the liquor store is alcohol by volume. If you measure 3.2 beer by volume, it's about 4%, which is the same as a lot of regular beers like MGD and Bud Light. So 3.2 beer isn't nearly as weak as most people believe it is.

This makes the law even stupider when you think about it. Why is it legal to buy a case of 4% ABV beer but not a 6-pack of 5%?

Tony D.

about 13 years ago 

A long, long time ago in the Zenith City:

[img]http://www.perfectduluthday.com/wp-content/uploads/comments/ZCO_MarkellClip.jpg[/img]


(Dr. Thomas Foster, Duluth Minnesotian, April 6, 1872)

Rougement

about 13 years ago 

I'd be happy for liquor stores to remain closed on a Sunday but only if, as a show of good faith, churches also have to close their doors.

De man

about 13 years ago 

Well, Mayor Luce didn't come through.... Maybe his restaurant will do it in the future.

secjewl

about 13 years ago 

I look at this differently. It is the big boys, think Cash Wise and the wholesalers who want the Sunday openings. They are doing the heavy lobbying.

The small independent guys, be it near the border or not, do not want to be open on Sundays but if their local competition is they have no choice but to be open.

I always think of the PDD crowd as a group who will stand up for the little guy and stick it to "the man" but not with 93% favoring Sunday opening.

BadCat!

about 13 years ago 

But if a small business doesn't want to be open on Sunday, they don't have to be open. Most liquor sales are not on Sunday anyway, so they would not be losing a large part of their business to larger stores.

Barrett Chase

about 13 years ago 

I think the entire internet should be shut down on Sundays so that we don't have to moderate PDD seven days a week. Sundays are for church anyway. You shouldn't be using the internet on Sundays.

Mister Digits

about 13 years ago 

To kind of piggyback on Barrett Chase up there, I have heard (but don't remember a lot of specifics) that, essentially, breweries don't want to pay a little extra to brew 3.2 beer and the gubbermint doesn't want to pay to see whether beer labeled 3.2 is actually 3.2.  It follows that one's watery beer is likely the same as one's slighty less watery beer.

Barrett Chase

about 13 years ago 

According to this article, 3.2 beer is literally just slightly watered down. Something else to consider is that extreme low-calorie  beers like MGD 64 also have far less alcohol than 3.2 beer. I haven't checked, but I would bet that supermarkets sell those beers.

jessige

about 13 years ago 

Interesting Slate article from today explains the opposition:

Who's Afraid of Sunday Liquor Sales?

Barrett Chase

about 11 years ago 

According to this recent report by NPR, "While many states have laws restricting liquor sales, Indiana is the only one where you can't buy packaged beer, wine and liquor on Sundays." Hm. Maybe they should fact-check a little more thoroughly?

andrew

about 11 years ago 

I can buy 3.2 beer on Sunday in Minnesota.  I think that is the distinction they were highlighting.  No beer or alcohol of any kind can be sold on Sundays in Indiana.

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