Banning the sale of alcohol on Sundays has been an ongoing process and a heated debate for several counties in Utah; namely Nibley, Utah.
"Because Nibley accidentally failed to outlaw Sunday beer sales when the town revised its ordinances in 2002, the Maverik Country Store at 3090 S. Main was allowed to sell beer on Sundays when it opened in October. Responding to complaints from a competing convenience store, the nearby town of Hyrum in early December OK'd Sunday beer sales."
An employee from the Maverick store in Nibley, who did not want her name exposed, said, "Our sales our three times as much on Sunday as they are on any other day. I think it is better to sale alcohol here than have people drive to other counties and come back drunk."
The subject of selling alcoholic beverages has been in dispute in a few other States, however, Utah has been the main focus.
" ... some people in conservative Cache County oppose Sunday beer sales. Cache Valley was settled by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which prohibits consumption of alcohol, tobacco and coffee ... Craig Rasmussen, the only member of the Hyrum City Council to vote against allowing Sunday beer sales, called it a moral issue — although not necessarily an LDS issue."
The Utah Legislature is made up of 90 percent LDS members. Many individuals are worried that this is having an impact on alcohol laws. The LDS church prohibits alcohol consumption of any kind.
"The Maverick Store in Nibley has been open for about a month. Its managers applied for and got a Class A liquor license from the city. And since the city has no law on the books against Sunday beer sales, they're selling beer on Sundays." "We got to this point by default," said Nibley city councilman Larry Jacobsen. "We've just never dealt with this because nobody has ever wanted to sell beer in Nibley on Sunday or any other day."
Kelli Mayfield, a long time resident in Cache Valley, was asked her opinion about selling beer on Sundays and said, "I think that is ridiculous. If you are going to ban the sale of alcohol ban it everyday of the week. Why should we not be able to purchase on Sunday something that we can buy every other day of the week. I think they should leave it up to individual owners of the store as to whether they want to sale alcohol at all no matter what day of the week it is."
A City Council meeting was held earlier this month, in Nibley, to discuss beer sales on Sunday. Everyone had their own reasoning to their stated opinions during the meeting. Many at the meeting felt that banning alcohol sales one day of the week made no sense. A Nibley resident stated that she would rather have alcohol available to purchase closer to home than have individuals travel to other counties and risk drinking and driving. If alcohol sales were ban on Sunday in Cache Valley, people would be forced to drive to Box Elder County or Idaho to purchase alcohol.
A worry that goes along with alcohol sales, not only on Sunday, is providing easier means for underage drinkers to obtain alcohol. " Stephen J. Allred, prevention program manager for the Utah County, Utah substance abuse program, said Utah County, Utah cities that allow alcohol to be sold on Sunday are not only encouraging drug and alcohol abuse in youth, but violence, delinquency, teenage pregnancy and school dropouts."
"I don't think alcohol can ever solve a problem and I think it makes the world worse for our children. I wish our county would become a dry county so that we wouldn't have to worry about alcohol in our county at all. Especially in a college town, I feel like problems involving alcohol tend to be at a higher risk than normal and frankly, I don't want my children exposed to it," said Camy Marshall, a mother of four.
Mayor Gerald Knight had plenty to say about this issue, especially since his city has been the center of attention with the opening of the new Maverick store last October. When asked about the issues of the LDS church playing a factor in any decision regarding alcohol sales he said, "...I don't think that is playing a part. Probably not at all actually. The Councilmen are sensitive to morals, not individual religions. Concerns have mainly been about safety ... our liquor laws will be updated as we see a need for them to change. As of right now, we don't see a need for change."
A number of states have abolished their blue laws prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays. The result? The states that have enacted Sunday sales laws report increases in revenues but no increases in drunk driving or underage drinking.” Sunday alcohol sales appear to be a win-win situation. Permitting the sale of alcohol on Sunday, the second busiest shopping day of the week, increases tax revenues, but doesn’t increase either drunk driving or underage drinking.
The idea of banning alcohol sales on Sunday poses no real positive outcome. Whether alcohol is available six days of the week or seven, it is going to be purchased no matter what. Keeping alcohol closer to home can only bring positive benefits and eliminating a possibility of more DUI's.
