Last Tuesday, the Starkville Board of Aldermen voted 4-3 to allow the sale of alcohol from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays. This long-overdue decision replaces out-of-date blue laws and will benefit the economy and the safety of Starkville.
There is no logical reason for anyone to oppose Sunday sales of alcohol. Nothing ever prevented anyone from drinking on Sundays, since people could always buy their alcohol for Sunday on Saturday or drive to an area, such as West Point, where Sunday sales were already legal.
Any “logical” arguments raised by opponents of Sunday sales quickly devolve into straw man fallacies or absurd logical leaps. Opponents alleged that allowing alcohol to be sold seven days a week rather than six would lead to an increase in immoral activity, with extremists predicting more gang rapes, violence against women and cop-killing and that the Starkville Police would suddenly become overworked. There is no evidence to back up any of these assertions.
That leaves the moral issue of drinking on the [Christian] Sabbath as the main opposition to allowing Sunday sales. However, it is not the place of the government to legislate the morality of some onto everyone. Those who believe buying alcohol on Sunday is a sin can still refrain from doing so, but not everyone in Starkville wishes to follow the moral code of fundamentalist Christians.
By allowing Sunday alcohol sales, Starkville will be able to improve its economy by attracting more businesses and enticing football fans into staying in town through Sunday after game day. The tax revenue collected from Sunday sales of alcohol will help the city through its current budget crunch, and the revenue from the extra 2 percent food and beverage tax collected will directly benefit Mississippi State, as a portion of that tax goes to Student Affairs.
The ordinance will also promote safety by not encouraging those who wish to drink on Sundays to drive all the way to another county just to buy something they could buy any other day all throughout Starkville.
The final version of the ordinance voted upon by the aldermen did not include proposals to extend the hours bars can open until 2 a.m. However, this measure appears to have been nothing but a political ploy to look like a compromise. And while it’s still not the role of the government to tell us not to stay out at bars until 2 a.m. on weeknights, it’s a relatively minor issue, and it’s not worth getting worked up over. The point of the ordinance was to allow Sunday sales, not to completely redraft the alcohol codes of the city.
Allowing Sunday sales is not a bold, innovative step, as many counties and municipalities around the state have already done so. It was, however, a logical and necessary step to improve the economy and image of the city. The Reflector commends the board of aldermen for seeing this reality and acting in the best interests of the city and its people, both students and residents of Starkville alike.
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Harry Nelson,
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editor Justin Ammon, entertainment editor Bailey Singletary, photo
editor Ariel Nachtigal, copy editor Dee Works, online editor Adam
Kazery, graphic designer Carl Carbonell, managing editor Aubra
Whitten and editor in chief Carl Smith.