In search of a sauvignon on Sunday

It’s a subject that has perplexed me ever since I moved to the Nutmeg State in 1984. Why it bothers me so much, I do not know, because I’m rarely affected by it. But if I’m cooking dinner on a Sunday and need to step out for a bottle of wine to serve with the meal, I am out of luck unless I want to drive to another state.

All the other New England states have repealed this ridiculous statute. How can it be that in Connecticut — not exactly the most religious state in the nation — we cling to the Blue Laws, bans on certain types of behavior on religious grounds?

Connecticut has come a long way since the 17th century, when Gov. Theophilus Eaton crafted a set of puritanical laws banning everything from adultery to wearing clothes trimmed with gold.

Blue Laws banning large store openings in Connecticut were repealed decades ago, but statutes prohibiting off-site alcohol purchases have been in effect since the days when the Rev. Eaton’s laws made it illegal to “travel, cook victuals, make beds, sweep house, cut hair or shave on the Sabbath day.†Why, in its infinite wisdom, the state deems it fine to stop by a local watering hole to quaff a few beakers but unacceptable to buy the booze at a package store and bring it home is beyond me.

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The three mayors of Connecticut’s largest cities are trying to change that. They estimate Sunday beer, wine and liquor sales would add another $7.5 to $8 million annually to the state’s coffers. That’s not exactly chump change when Gov. Rell is proposing cuts to everything from DMV hours to services for children and the elderly.

But guess who’s opposing the mayors’ proposal. The package store owners themselves.

It seems counterintuitive that any business would want the government to forcibly restrict its hours of operation with the effect of sending business out of the state. But the liquor store owners’ lobbyist in Hartford, the Connecticut Package Stores Association, has succeeded in thwarting Sunday sales several times during the past five years.

The association, which represents 1,100 mostly mom-and-pop stores in 168 of the state’s 169 municipalities, insists that Sunday hours will not increase revenues.

An association spokesman also told The Hartford Courant “that the Sunday sales … are a bad idea because the stores would be forced to pay overtime rates for their workers with no significant increase in sales,†while some stores that are barely profitable would be forced to close.

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Say what? No one is “forcing†anyone to do anything. Under the mayors’ proposal, Sunday openings would not be mandated. If the extra expense of hiring a clerk to work time-and-a-half on Sundays isn’t worth it, then stay closed. That’s just simple microeconomics.

Reluctant package store owners insist that they would be compelled to open on Sundays because of the competitive threat from the stores that do. Perhaps, but you could say the same thing about convenience stores or barber shops. Maybe the package store owners could explain why they deserve special protections from competition that others do not enjoy. They won’t be able to do that because there’s no plausible explanation.

It’s high time to repeal a silly law that’s rooted in nothing but tradition and protectionism.

Lakeville resident Terry Cowgill is a former editor and senior writer at The Lakeville Journal Company and host of the soon-to-be-launched Conversations With Terry Cowgill on CATV6. He can be reached at terrycowgill@gmail.com. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/terry.cowgill.

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