More liquor on Sunday, in beer being debated
- Mar 13, 2008 - comment
By Jennifer Davis Rash and Sondra Washington
A move to expand the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday met with defeat in the Alabama House of Representatives’ Committee on Tourism and Travel during the second week of the legislative session.
But a similar bill is alive and well in the Senate, and Dan Ireland plans to keep his eye on it.
Ireland, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), said House Bill (HB) 191 would have allowed the governing body of Class 4, 5 and 6 municipalities to call for a vote to permit “wide-open” Sunday liquor sales.
These classifications of municipalities include all cities with populations between 12,000 and 99,999.
“I had called for a public hearing opposing the legislation,” Ireland said. “But the committee withdrew Rep. Mac Gipson’s (R-Prattville) bill from the agenda.”
If the similar Senate Bill 111, sponsored by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, passes the Senate, then it will end up in the House Committee on Tourism and Travel, Ireland noted. “If that happens, we will have a public hearing on the bill.”
In the meantime, another bill dealing with alcohol was scheduled for a public hearing Feb. 20.
Sponsored by Rep. Thomas E. Jackson, D-Thomasville, HB196 would more than double the alcohol content in beer, referred to as a gourmet beer.
Currently Alabama law prohibits the sale of beer with an alcohol content of more than 6 percent, but Jackson’s bill would increase the content to 14.9 percent.
Proponents of the bill point out that Alabama law allows wines and harder liquors to have a much higher alcohol content than beer.
‘Drink of choice’
“Hard liquor and wine do have higher alcohol content rates, but beer is the more prevalent alcoholic drink,” Ireland noted. “It is the easiest one to get. Beer makes up about 70 percent of all alcohol sold.
“It is also the drink of choice for teenagers,” he added. “We don’t want teenagers who drink to get a hold of the higher alcohol content.”
Joe Godfrey, associate executive director of ALCAP, added that even with gourmet beer having a higher price than other beer, it would be a danger to teenagers.
“Studies show that the primary suppliers of alcoholic beverages to teenage drinkers, whether they know it or not, are parents who keep alcoholic beverages in their homes.”
The gourmet beer bill is currently in the House Committee on Tourism and Travel.
“Contact your legislator to vote against this dangerous legislation,” Ireland said, noting similar bills were defeated in the 2006 and 2007 legislative sessions.
Just in case the statewide gourmet beer effort fails, Rep. Oliver Robinson, D-Birmingham, has filed a bill—HB53—that calls for the same thing but strictly in Jefferson County.
Instead of increasing alcohol content and alcohol sales, Ireland would like to see legislators focus on legislation that addresses the problems that come with alcohol.
“There is a host of worthy legislation addressing drug problems, DUI problems, sexual abuse, protecting our underage children, etc.,” he said. “These types of bills could be helpful to pass.”
In other legislative news, ALCAP continues its fight against HB12, which seeks to legalize the “sale of devices for sexual stimulation.”
The sale of these devices, or sex toys, is prohibited under Alabama’s Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act, which was passed in 1998, unless they are for medicinal purposes.
The emergence of HB12, sponsored by Rep. John W. Rogers Jr., D-Birmingham, follows several lengthy legal battles involving adult-store owners who believe the law violates sexual privacy. Rogers also attempted a similar bill in 2003 but it failed.
The current bill is in the House Judiciary Committee.
Rogers, who could not be reached for comment, has been reported as saying the ban is unconstitutional and embarrassing to the state.
But Ireland said the ban is a “good law” that has bolstered public safety.
“Sexual matters are not to become a nuisance to people and the community,” he said. “We have enough problems with sexual-oriented crimes without enticing or promoting it.”
To find out more about legislative matters, visit http://www.alcaponline.org.
This article is reprinted from the February 21, 2008, issue of The Alabama Baptist, the newspaper of the Alabama Baptist State Convention.
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