The Commercial Appeal
March 11, 2010

Tennessee legislators who cite election-year worries for their opposition to wine sales in grocery stores need to get out once in awhile.

Last year a poll by Middle Tennessee State University found 62 percent of state residents in favor of the change and only 26 percent opposed.

And this is a political liability? A proposal that lawmakers are scared to touch year after year? Maybe these people need to hear from voters on the issue.

An interesting new approach toward the old controversy lies in legislation introduced in the General Assembly this year by Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Rep. David Shepard, D-Dickson -- Senate Bill 3577 and House Bill 2948 -- which would allow local jurisdictions to ask voters if they want to allow local food stores to sell wine, as is the practice in 33 other states.

Any such referenda would have to be accompanied by state law removing the current restrictions that prohibit liquor stores from selling anything other than high-alcohol content beverages.

Those restrictions are patently unfair and represent a totally pointless exercise of government's regulatory authority.

So the public is in favor of the change. It's a free market approach. What could be the problem?

Oh yeah, the liquor lobby. But wholesalers can't keep beating consumers on this issue forever. Can they?

Copyright The Commercial Appeal 2010