INDIANAPOLIS -- Despite the Indianapolis Colts being in the Super Bowl this Sunday, Indiana's Blue Law will force package store owners throughout the state to sit on the sidelines that day as border retailers ring up the sales, according to local retailers and the Distilled Spirits Council.
Customer convenience is a hallmark of Indiana's drug, grocery and convenience stores, said Grant M. Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council. Sunday alcohol sales will boost state revenues and give time-starved consumers greater opportunities to complete their [image-nocss] shopping.
Currently, 34 states allow Sunday sales of distilled spirits. Since 2002, 12 states have modernized their liquor laws by passing legislation allowing Sunday sales. Indiana, along with Connecticut and Georgia, prohibits Sunday sales of all beverage alcohol despite public sentiment in favor of allowing Sunday sales.
Despite planning ahead, party hosts will inevitably forget something, said David Wojnar, vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council, which has aggressively supported legislation to roll back Blue Laws in many states. Repealing the 1930s ban on Sunday sales would provide adult consumers who choose to drink with much needed convenience.
Wojnar added that in today's modern economy, with dual-income households becoming the norm, Sunday is now the second busiest shopping day of the week. These archaic laws hinder consumers' ability to purchase spirits for their Super Bowl parties and deprive state coffers from additional sales tax revenue that would be gained from year-round Sunday sales, Wojnar said.
He noted that a recent economic analysis by the Distilled Spirits Council showed that the Sunday sale of spirits, beer and wine in Indiana would generate between $5.7 and $8 million in new tax revenues for the state.
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