State gives go ahead on Sunday liquor sales

Liquor stores can be open on Sundays after July 1

This week Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into law a bill that will allow liquor stores to sell full-strength beer and liquor on Sundays.

 Colorado now joins the ranks of 34 other states that allow liquor sales on Sunday. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a group that lobbies for such laws, Colorado is the 13th state since 2002 to pass a law allowing Sunday sales.
Colorado has 1,600 independent liquor stores, five of which are located in the Crested Butte
vicinity.
Treasury Liquors owner Justin Hastings thinks the new law will have a positive effect on business. “A lot of people thought passing that law would spread six days of business over seven days. But in peak season when we’re a resort town, it’s real business seven days a week.”
Hastings said the law would not be without its drawbacks. “As a businessman, I think it’s a great move. As a family person, I’m really not happy. It takes away my one day a week off.”
Opponents of the law have argued that it will affect grocery and convenience stores that have been allowed to sell reduced strength beer (sometimes called “3.2 beer” for its alcohol content) on Sundays.
Gas Café owner Andrew Gitin says his store does sell reduced strength beer on Sundays, but the revenue is “nothing to write home about.”
Gitin doesn’t believe the new law will have a serious effect on tourist business, but it may impact local sales. “I don’t think it’s going to affect the tourist business of buying 3.2 beer. But the local who wasn’t able to get beer on Sundays before definitely won’t come in,” he says.
The new law takes effect on July 1, and the first Sunday allowing liquor sales will be July 6.
Hastings intends to be open on Sunday once the law takes effect.
Sunday liquor sales have been banned in Colorado since the repeal of prohibition in 1933 and the formation of the state’s “blue laws” enforcing moral codes.
One blue law still in effect is Colorado’s ban on auto dealers selling cars on Sundays.
The measure to allow Sunday liquor sales was introduced last fall as Senate Bill 82, sponsored by Senator Jennifer Veiga (D-Denver) and Representative Cheri Jahn (D–Wheat Ridge).
A similar bill was defeated in 2005 after facing opposition from liquor stores. But last year liquor store owners formed a coalition to encourage Sunday sales after hearing reports of supermarkets pushing for legislation that would allow them to sell full-strength beer and wine, but not liquor.
In a press release issued on Monday, Ritter stated, “The ban on Sunday sales was an antiquated law that long ago outlived its usefulness or relevance. Everything we know about modern consumer demand says the people of Colorado want the conveniences, options and choices this law will bring. This is about stepping into the 21st Century.”
Ritter added that his passing of the law does not mean the state will be any less vigilant in its efforts to fight underage drinking, alcohol abuse, or drunk driving.