Georgia has the Bible Belt blues
February 18, 2009 at 7:47 pm by Scott Henry in News
Never on a Sunday
This afternoon, I shuttled between two depressing committee meetings at the State Capitol — one in which a GOP lawmaker browbeat state university professors for having nationally recognized expertise in the field of sexual behavior and another for which the Christian Coalition had bused in dozens of fresh-scrubbed teens to testify against their elders being allowed to buy a six-pack on Sunday.
“The Bible says alcohol is wrong,” declared one young lady.
One of the boys took a more pragmatic stance, asking, “The state might get a few more million dollars, but at what cost of the blood of people who crash and die?”
What cost indeed. Of course, the bill by Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, had its supporters. Kroger is for it. So is the convenience store industry and the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, whose representative framed the issue as one of “basic economic fairness,” since restaurants, stadiums and performance venues are currently allowed to serve booze on Sundays.
Harp himself told a heart-breaking story about soldiers from Fort Benning who were reunited with loved ones just before shipping out overseas, but because it was a Sunday, they were unable to properly party down. Well, maybe it was just me who was left quietly sobbing.
Anyway, the bill wouldn’t automatically allow Sunday sales. Instead, it would permit cities and counties to let voters decide. There are some cities in Georgia now that are completely dry on Sunday, restaurants included (I’m looking at you, Snellville). This bill wouldn’t change that, unless those places wanted to enter the 21st century.
The committee won’t vote on the bill until next week.
Attending both meetings, I was reminded of a favorite saying of a certain left-leaning legislator: “If Georgia didn’t have Atlanta, it would be Alabama.”
Except that in Alabama, you can buy beer on Sunday.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
The Bible does not say that Alcohol is wrong. Jesus made water into wine. It’s Islam that forbids alcohol. These dumb pseudo-Christians don’t know their bible from a sack of dirt.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:03 am
the bible is HIDDEN in the sack of dirt.
February 19th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I always laugh when some Christo-fundi says the wine was “unfermented”. I kick off a VERY lively conversation by saying, “Then it was grape juice and the Bible is factually incorrect”.
Let’s see, clay pots full of grape juice and no refrigeration….. nope, no wine here. :-)
February 19th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Alabama’s Sundy sales law is exactly what is in play here in Georgia. Local control by county.
I lived in Limestone county for a few years. Every year the wet/dry referendum came up and it was the only time the Baptists and the bootleggers agreed on anything, at least in public.
Favorite Alabama joke;
What’s the difference between a Baptist and a Methodist? A Methodist will say hi when you see the at the liquor store. Also works with strip club, porn shop, etc
February 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Pabst Blue Ribbon? How about just never?
February 20th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Can we give every fucking lousy Baptist and Evangelical a state, say Iowa, and let them go nuts in the confines of there own promised land? Then every year we’ll allow hunters to go in and thin the herd. I would personally love to have Ted Haggart’s ass mounted on my wall.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Ted Haggard would love to have you mount his ass against the wall.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I do give a fine massage.
February 20th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Where exactly in Alabama would that be?