Source: CBS 17
North Carolina has some of the strictest alcohol laws in the country, but a bill in the state Senate could bring the state’s alcohol policies into the 21st century.
If passed, Senate Bill 527 would allow counties and municipalities to choose for themselves if they would like to keep their ABC stores open on Sundays, CBS 17 reported. The legislation would also legalize happy hours (did you know they’re illegal in North Carolina?!) and would allow bars and restaurants to deliver alcohol.
“This is a local option. The ABC board would have to agree, and they would petition their governing board if they would also concur with that request. If both of those standards are met, then a Sunday option for beverage sales would pass in that community,” said N.C. Senator Timothy Moffitt, one of the co-sponsors of the bill.
Leaders from the restaurant and distillery industry spoke out in favor of the legislation, saying it’s a step toward progress and will help keep the state competitive with other states in the industry.
Of course, not everyone believes in allowing people to buy liquor on Sundays. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, took issue with the entire bill but was especially outraged by the idea of buying liquor on a Sunday.
“We’ll have the interference possibly in a lot of situations of alcohol abuse and how that will stain the day. I have always made the case with lawmakers that they have an obligation to churches, just like they to do businesses, to everything they can to enhance their ability to prosper,” Creech later said in an interview, CBS 17 reported. “Churches hold the very soul over our culture in their hands.”
At this time, no date has been set to vote on the bill.
