An update on Senate Bill 10 (AKA Legislation to give Georgians rights they should have had all along):
After passing the Senate last week (and it only took 5 years of wrangling - nice job, Senators!), the bill is headed through two House committees this week and is expected to hit the floor for a vote by the full chamber next week - possibly as early as Monday. It passed the House Regulated Industries Committee with less than 10 minutes of discussion and minimal opposition. Guess some of my fellow tipplers serve on that committee!
It's not a slam dunk, primarily because if the House makes any changes whatsoever the bill would have to go back to the Senate for another vote. God help us all if this happens. If I have to face another 5 years of stocking up on booze every Saturday afternoon, watch the news for stories about a 40-ish woman in North Atlanta running naked through the streets screaming "I wanna voooooooooote!".
The president of the Christian Coalition continues his dumb-ass whining about how there will be more fatal car wrecks if the legislation passes (which is bullshit, by the way - he's using faulty data from another state to make his case) and when that didn't work he said that House members who vote for the bill are being paid for their vote by the alcohol industry. Nice display of Christian ethics, Mr. Luquire.
I still don't see what the big damn deal is in the Legislature. They're not voting to allow retail sales of alcohol on Sundays, they're voting to allow citizens to vote to allow it. Know what that's called? Democracy!
I heard the exact same idiotic argument against Sunday retail liquor sales in Arkansas too. It just makes no sense. Bars and restaurants can serve liquor by the drink on Sundays. So, people can go to a bar and drink while watching a sporting event, and try to drive home, but can't go buy a six pack and then go home and drink in the safety and privacy of their own home? It's so twisted.
ReplyDelete@Jay: Bingo! The Christian Coalition based their
ReplyDelete"opinion" on a study on fatalities in New Mexico without including the little tidbit that around the same time New Mexico approved Sunday sales, it also increased the speed limit on many roads to 75 MPH. Guess which one caused the uptick in fatalities (one hint: it's not the booze)?