Its called the 10th amendment.... Sovereign States have the Sovereign right to make their own decisions --- but federal law trumps state law
On Mar 21, 1:42 pm, THE ANNOINTED ONE <[email protected]> wrote: > Its called the 10th amendment.... Sovereign States have the Sovereign > right to make their own decisions... Wouldn't it be great if ALL > decisions that affected the populations of the Several States were > made this way... to reflect the ideas and ideals of those states and > localities? I think it would. > > On Mar 20, 11:54 am, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > "Some religious people always focus on the negative. They don’t drink, > > dance, smoke, chew, or go with girls who do -- but then they want to spread > > the misery even if it means using the state to tell others how they should > > live. It reminds me of H.L. Mencken’s famous definition of puritanism: “The > > haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”"Time for a Drinkby > > Laurence M. Vance, March 20, 2012 > > While eating in a restaurant in the Atlanta airport recently, I noticed > > that the restaurant’s bar was closed and -- to make it perfectly clear -- > > all the chairs had been turned over and placed on the bar. > > Now, although I don’t frequent bars in airports or anywhere else, I was > > nevertheless intrigued. “The bar doesn’t open until 12:30 on Sundays,” said > > my waiter. But, as I found out later, it isn’t just this particular airport > > bar that didn’t open until Sunday afternoon. In Georgia, no alcohol may be > > served in restaurants or bars until after 12:30 on Sundays. > > In fact, until just recently, alcohol sales in retail stores on Sundays > > were prohibited by the Georgia legislature. On April 28, 2011, Nathan Deal, > > Georgia’s governor, signed legislation allowing local communities the > > option of voting on whether to continue the Sunday alcohol-sales ban in > > their cities and counties or to eliminate it. Georgia’s previous governor, > > Sonny Perdue, had always pledged to veto any measure ending the ban on > > Sunday sales, but he left office on January 10, 2011, constitutionally > > ineligible to seek a third consecutive term. > > On November 8, 2011 (the first election date available under state law), > > about 120 of Georgia’s almost 700 cities and counties held areferendumon > > the matter of Sunday alcohol sales. In more than 100 communities that > > voted, the Sunday restriction was lifted, in many cases by large margins. > > The effective date of the repeal varied from November to February. Sunday > > sales in Georgia’s capital and largest city, Atlanta, began on January 1, > > 2012. > > The cost of having a single-issue ballot kept many communities from having > > such a referendum. However, on March 6, voters in some Georgia communities > > had more than a Republican presidential nominee to vote on in the Super > > Tuesday elections. In 16 cities and counties, there also appeared on the > > ballot the Sunday alcohol-sales question. The measure passed everywhere it > > was voted on except in the city ofJeffersonville, where it failed by one > > vote. > > But Georgia is not alone when it comes to states that restrict alcohol > > sales on Sundays. Unlike Nevada and Louisiana, where beer, wine, and liquor > > sales are legal 24 hours a day, seven days a week, most states (or cities > > and counties that have been given a local option) restrict alcohol sales in > > some way on Sundays. A distinction is usually made between alcohol consumed > > on-premises and alcohol purchased for consumption off-premises. In Indiana, > > Tennessee, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Connecticut, the sale of alcohol is > > prohibited for consumption off-premises on Sunday. Most counties in > > Arkansas and Mississippi are the same way. In Colorado, the Sunday sales > > restriction wasn’t lifted until 2008. Hard liquor cannot be sold for > > off-premise consumption on Sunday in Texas, Utah, North Carolina, or South > > Carolina. In Nebraska, there can be no on- or off-premises sales of hard > > liquor before noon on Sundays. No alcoholic beverages of any kind can be > > sold on- or off-premises before 1:00 p.m. on Sunday in West Virginia. Other > > states (and cities or counties) with Sunday restrictions generally have a > > later time on Sunday morning for alcohol sales (on- or off-premises) than > > during the other days of the week. > > Why? > > It can’t possibly be because the states, counties, and municipalities are > > exercising what is commonly referred to as their police powers to protect > > the public’s health, safety, and morals. > > If there is something dangerous about drinking alcohol on Sunday morning > > before noon, then it is equally dangerous to drink alcohol before noon on > > any other day of the week. Yet most states with Sunday alcohol-sales > > restrictions generally allow the on-premises sale of alcohol the rest of > > the week sometime between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. But what is > > so magical about 6:00 a.m.? Is there really any difference between letting > > someone be served a drink at 5:30 a.m. instead of 6:00 a.m.? Some states > > prohibit the sale of alcohol only between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Do they > > not care about the health, safety, and morals of their citizens the other > > 20 hours of the day? > > States are doing a poor job if they are protecting their citizens from the > > dangers of alcohol only during certain hours and on certain days. Shouldn’t > > all states at least follow the model of Kansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee? > > Those states are “dry” by default; individual counties must vote to become > > “wet.” Thirty other states allow their counties to go dry only by public > > referendum, but at least they give their counties that option. Seventeen > > states preclude any of their counties from going dry. > > Consistency was never the hallmark of government at any level. In > > Wisconsin, one can be served alcohol until 2:00 a.m. on Sunday through > > Thursday, but until 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, with no ending time > > at all on New Year’s Day. That seems counterintuitive, since the government > > is extending alcohol sales during the times when people aremore likelyto > > abuse alcohol. And why is it that casinos all along the Mississippi River > > are permitted to be open 24/7 and give free alcohol to gambling patrons all > > hours of the day and night? Many convenience stores also sell pornography > > in addition to beer and wine. There are no time restrictions on the > > purchase of pornography. And there are no laws that forbid the purchase of > > pornography on Sundays. > > There is really only one reason that state and local governments and voters > > in counties and cities support restricting alcohol sales on Sundays: they > > are puritanical busybodies clinging to Prohibition- or Colonial America-era > > blue laws. > > It was generally religious preferences that led Georgians to vote against > > the November referendum on the matter of Sunday alcohol sales. In the city > > of Snellville,James Freedlevoted against the referendum, saying, “I don’t > > think it’s appropriate to drink on Sunday.” In the city of Forest Park, > > Mayor and Sunday School teacherCorine Deyton, who also said she voted no, > > commented, “If you can’t do without alcohol one day a week, there’s > > something bad wrong with you.” In rural Elbert County, one of the few areas > > where the referendum failed to pass, church pianistPatsy > > Scarboroughpointedly said, “This nation has a trend of turning away from > > good morals. Americans need to be in church on Sunday, not out buying > > alcohol.” “Thanks for voting no to sell alcohol on Sunday,” read a sign on > > an Elbert County local church after the referendum failed. > > But it’s not just alcohol sales on Sunday. In some states and counties it > > is still illegal on Sunday to hunt, hold horse races, sell cars, or open a > > store before noon. > > Now, as a religious person myself whodoesattend church on Sunday > > anddoesn’tpurchase alcohol on Sunday or any other day of the week, I am > > sympathetic to those Georgians’ views of church attendance and alcohol. > > That does not mean, however, that I believe that people who, for whatever > > reason, don’t attend church on Sunday should be punished by not allowing > > them to buy a six-pack of beer at 7-Eleven on Sunday morning before they go > > fishing. > > Some religious people always focus on the negative. They don’t drink, > > dance, smoke, chew, or go with girls who do -- but then they want to spread > > the misery even if it means using the state to tell others how they should > > live. It reminds me of H.L. Mencken’s famous definition of puritanism: “The > > haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” > > The problem with alcohol prohibitionists -- religious or otherwise -- is > > that they, for whatever reason, have never accepted or been introduced to > > the philosophy of freedom. Restricting the sale of alcohol or any other > > product on Sunday is really a restriction on commerce, property, and > > freedom, things that Americans -- religious or otherwise -- say they hold > > dear. > > In a free society, businesses make their own decisions as to the days and > > times when they will offer their products for sale, just as individual > > persons make their own decisions as to the day and time when, and place of > > business where, they will make purchases. In fact, a free society can’t > > have it any other way. > > No alcohol was consumed on Sunday during the writing of this > > article.http://www.fff.org/comment/com1203q.asp -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
