MADD's Mad About Ohio's Sunday Liquor Sales

 Here one for the drinkers!  Nothing like a beer and some football on a Sunday.  Just don't Drink and Drive.

Ohio allows for early liquor sales on Sunday  

A new Ohio law now permits liquor to be sold up to two hours earlier on Sunday, a change greeted openly by restaurants and angrily by anti-DUI groups like MADD.

The change came at the end of this past legislative session when the state passed a new budget and other initiatives. As of this Sunday, over 8,000 restaurants and other locations selling liquor can open their bars at 11AM. Previously, the depots had to wait until 1PM due to an antiquated state law.

Ohio was one of few, though not the only, state regulating the sale of alcohol on Sunday. This is what is commonly called a "blue law." Blue laws encourage observance of Sunday as a religious, sacred day.
Interestingly, Ohio has allowed beer to be sold at the earlier time for years. Only liquor and wine will be changed with this initiative. Some establishments already achieved special permits allowing them to sell liquor starting at 10AM, but this law will permit every distributor to do so across the board.

The Ohio MADD chapter is concerned the effort to change drinking laws is going in the wrong direction. Instead of spending the time and effort reducing drunken driving, the legislature is focusing on allowing restaurants to sell more alcohol.

The Ohio Restaurant Association has been lobbying for this effort for years. They say the change will help restaurants be competitive with locations in hotels, airports and shopping complexes where the rule did not previously apply. The Sunday lunch market was unfairly skewed previously.