More States Selling Liquor on Sundays

More states and local communities are allowing sales of hard liquor and other alcohol on Sunday, USA Today reported Nov. 18.

In 2002, 22 states allowed Sunday liquor sales. Now, only 14 states and the District of Columbia do not allow Sunday liquor sales.

Some communities that permitted Sunday alcohol sales already, have changed starting hours for selling alcohol to earlier in the day. Michigan made it legal this month to sell alcohol as early as 7 a.m., while Arizona in July pushed legal starting hours from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m.

Lisa Hawkins of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said that so-called “blue laws” that restricted certain activities on Sundays “simply don't make sense in today's economy. They inconvenience consumers and deprive states of much-needed tax revenue.”

An economist from Auburn University, David Laband, agreed that revenue was a motivating factor. He said that blue laws were often modified or eliminated if governments “experience a revenue pinch.”

Scott Waddle, who manages a bar in Glendale, Arizona that now opens its doors at 8:30 a.m. instead of an hour later, said, “Customers like it that they can get served before 10.”