Many, many municipalities in Georgia — including all in Chatham County — will be voting in a few weeks on allowing Sunday package sales of beer, wine, and liquor.
I wasn’t the only one expecting a serious campaign to defeat the referenda, but so far there has been little concerted effort by opponents.
From the AJC’s Resistance to Sunday alcohol sales bill mostly dormant:
But in the final weeks before voters in more than 100 jurisdictions statewide decide whether to allow stores in their communities to sell liquor, wine and beer on Sundays, there’s little sign of a battle going on.
So far, no organized “vote no†campaign has materialized, not in metro Atlanta where 51 jurisdictions will vote on the local-level measures Nov. 8 or anywhere else in the state.
The Georgia Christian Coalition only last week began an attempt to rouse an opposition movement, sending out 12,000 emails imploring pastors and other church officials, parishioners, religious organizations, and civic clubs across the state to unite against Sunday sales. Its traditional allies have shown little interest in getting involved, even if they prefer the ban.
The piece touches upon a number of arguments, and even notes that the Mothers Against Drunk Driving is staying out of the fight.
It’s still possible that individual ministers will focus on this issue for the next few Sundays. And there might be some areas where the conventional wisdom is that voters will continue the ban, thus negating the need for a big push.
Still, I’d like to think that the conservatives who have long supported the ban now see it as an unwarranted intrusion of the government and religion into commerce.
I’m aggregating all my posts about the upcoming November election on this page.