In last Tuesday’s Georgia election, the big joke around the state was that the most popular name on the ballot was Jack Daniels. And it appears old Jack won in a very large way.
After years of a century-old blue law that banned selling alcohol on Sundays, Georgia politicians finally let the state’s residents vote, city by city and county by county, on what they preferred in their communities. And the results were amazing. 105 of 127 communities voted by huge margins to end the Sunday restriction, prompting a string of spontaneous celebrations at liquor stores throughout the state.
Religiously motivated blue laws were once common throughout the Bible Belt. But over the decades they have been struck down as unfriendly to business, as restaurants and bar owners lost revenue watching consumers run to other counties to spend their money. Georgia was the last Southern state with a statewide all-day ban on Sunday alcohol sales in package or grocery stories. But now that is changing.
In Atlanta, Savannah and most other urban areas, alcohol will now be available for sale on Sundays, beginning as soon as this coming Sunday, November 20th. But in at least 21 other primarily rural towns and counties, the law will stay as it has since the late 19th century.
“The Bible says no to strong drink, and I’m proud that people around here agree,” said Jerry Beggs, 70, a retired machine technician in Elbert County, where the blue law will remain.
