New law would allow Sunday liquor sales

A new bill, allowing liquor stores to sell their wares on Sundays has recently passed through the Massachusetts state legislature.

Over the next few days, governor Mitt Romney is expected to ratify and sign this bill into law, allowing liquor stores to be open every day of the week.

The proposed law is part of an economic stimulus package that aims to allow for maximum business opportunities, and thus create more jobs and more profit in the state.

The manager of University Wine and Spirits, Robert (who declined to give his last name) feels that the law is a good idea. He called the old law banning Sunday liquor sales "silly rules."

However, not all store managers are pleased by the change.

Stores cited possible difficulties include finding capable staff willing to work weekends, overtime work for owners, and the fact that stores can be successful being opened only six days a week.

John Lianos, the manager from Ball Square Fine Wines and Liquor said it would be "better for the new law not to be passed because it would be bad for my business. Even if I chose not to open on Sunday, I would have to, because if the store down the street was open, [and] you just don't want to lose the customers to them."

Lianos did not think the passage of the law would be beneficial to the business of any of the liquor sellers in Massachusetts near colleges. "Students mostly come into the store on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. [They] will not be drinking or make purchases [here] on Sunday because there are classes Monday," he said.

Members of the Tufts Alcohol and Health Education Center also did not believe that the availability of liquor on Sundays would have too much of an effect on students' alcohol use.

Alcohol and Drug Treatment Specialist Elizabeth Moore said "Student drinking primarily occurs on weekends, in the Thursday through Saturday time frame."

Moore agreed with Lianos in that "there is much less drinking on Sundays, because the next day is a school day. People drink the most on days they don't have commitments and the new law will likely not have an effect on this."

Margot Abels, Director of the Drug and Alcohol Education Service at Tufts, acknowledged that students would potentially make use of the extra day to buy liquor. "Football is on Sundays and Mondays, so this could perhaps lead to lead to more parties on Sundays for those lacking classes on Mondays," she said.

Even though the impending law would allow an extra day each week to purchase liquor, some students did not believe that there would be much of a change in alcohol use on campus. Sophomore Paul Chase said, "Most students who drink tend to do it on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights. Having alcohol available on a Sunday would not cause any major change."

However, Abels feels the law could adversely effect attempts to prevent youth drinking. "[there has been] lots of activity with alcohol education in the Somerville area for people 21 and older about providing alcohol to minors, making alcohol less accessible, contradicting the new law."

The law banning the sale of liquor on Sundays, which date back to Puritan enforcement of the Sabbath, was originally created in order to discourage drinking on the Sabbath.

The law was updated in 1990 allowing for the sale of liquor on Sundays in towns within ten miles of the New Hampshire border. A further change in 1992 allowed Sunday sales from the weekend before Thanksgiving through New Year's Day.