Since the repeal of alcohol prohibition in 1933, many counties and parishes in America have struggled with deciding whether they want to be “wet” or “dry.”
Oftentimes, it seems the “dry” counties of today are “dry” because of religious reasons, like Mormonism in Utah.
Other places justify their “dry” county by arguing that residents are safer when alcohol is forbidden.
But some places fall in-between when it comes to being labeled as “wet” or “dry.” Many prohibit alcohol sales only on Sunday. Others are totally “dry,” but allow residents to travel to other counties to buy liquor. Until 2006, alcohol sales in Denham Springs were restricted on Sunday, but residents could travel to other parishes to buy.
Similarly, many students may not know this, but Baton Rouge is one of those places that just can’t decide whether to be “wet” or “dry.” That’s right, Baton Rouge has quite a few silly alcohol ordinances that basically shouldn’t exist.
To start, alcohol sales are required by law to cease from 2 a.m. until 6 a.m. every day. And on Sundays alcohol isn’t available between 2 a.m. and 11 a.m., but sales can resume from 11 a.m. until midnight, according to the Office of the Parish Attorney.
Along with those laws, bars can’t be open Sunday. But exceptions are made for Super Bowl Sunday and New Year’s Eve when it falls on a Sunday.
There’s also another alcohol-restricting law that has proven detrimental to businesses.
The law states that restaurants selling alcohol are required to gross “60 percent of their monthly revenue from the sale of food, food items and nonalcoholic beverages,” according to the Office of the Parish Attorney.
And to stay open on Sundays, restaurants’ sales must be 50 percent non-alcoholic.
The Advocate reported that Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant has felt the negative effects of the alcohol ordinances.
Until July 2010, Lucy’s was open seven days a week, but had to start closing on Sundays because their alcohol sales exceeded food sales.
General Manager Ryan Fairman described the law as ultimately penalizing them for eight or nine hours of business a week.
Luckily, Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle has recognized the stupidity and outdatedness of these laws. She is proposing a change to the law, allowing up to 45 percent of sales to be alcoholic goods.
What she’s doing is good, but these laws should be completely nonexistent.
For one, alcohol ordinances that prohibit sales on Sundays are indefinitely linked to religious causes — no matter what people claim.
Maybe if bars couldn’t open on Wednesday or something, these laws could be defended, but it’s Sunday. You don’t have to think too hard about who this law accommodates.
And to top it off, the laws are purely outdated.
If anyone can give me a good reason why someone of legal age shouldn’t be able to buy alcohol whenever he or she wants to, please send me an e-mail. You can buy cigarettes and fake weed from Hi-Life Wonderland all night, so why can’t adults buy beer from the Circle K?
Why restrict alcohol, and why restrict it in a way that hurts businesses?
If bars in Tigerland could be open every Sunday during the fall, they would probably earn a killing. Unfortunately, people tend to buy more beer than they do food there, so they’re penalized.
If anything does change, let’s hope bars and restaurants can one day open in Baton Rogue without restriction, and adults can make their own choices on deciding what time is appropriate to buy booze.
Until then, Baton Rouge will continue to be ass-backward with its alcohol laws.
Chris Grillot is 20-year-old English and mass communication junior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_cgrillot.
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Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected]