Citizens should approve Sunday alcohol sales

One of the local hot button issues to be decided by Tuesday’s election will be the issue of Sunday alcohol sales in restaurants. Should the laws prohibiting such sales be lifted or should they remain? Florence and Lake City voters will be asked to consider this referendum.

Two groups have spent the past several weeks promoting awareness of their viewpoints on the issue.

The Florence Hospitality Association, led by local restaurant owner Tim Norwood, says that permitting restaurants to apply for a special license to serve alcohol on Sunday will be a boon to the city’s economic development. The group claims that passing the legislation will not only encourage new businesses to come to town, but it will result increased business for existing restaurants and hospitality-related entities such as Florence Civic Center and local hotels. They also say some establishments might find the idea of annexation attractive should Sunday restaurant sales be legalized.

To bolster their position, the group commissioned a study by a Columbia consultant that estimated that Sunday alcohol sales in Florence could bring 200 new jobs and $234,000 in direct local road and hospitality tax revenue. The association also estimates Florence would receive an additional $93,000 if 30 restaurants pay a $3,100 annual license fee to sell alcohol on Sundays.

On the other side of the issue, the group Strengthening Florence Families argues that lifting the ban on Sunday alcohol sales in restaurants will cost the city through alcohol-related traffic deaths as well as the extra funding that would be needed for emergency responders and related services. Led by Florence attorney Gary Finklea and Southside Baptist Church pastor James Crooks, the group claims that serving alcohol on Sunday in our local restaurants will “flood the streets with more alcohol problems” and that voting “no” on this referendum is a “positive vote for public morals.” They cite high rates of alcoholism in the Pee Dee as a reason to keep the prohibition in place. The group also points to traffic death statistics in South Carolina counties where Sunday sales are permitted as an indicator of problems to come should the referendum pass.

After sitting down with both sides, listening to their arguments and considering their statistics, only one conclusion seems reasonable: Permitting Sunday alcohol sales in Florence restaurants would be a positive move.

The S.C. Department of Public Safety statistics do not appear to reflect a significant rise in traffic deaths in areas where Sunday alcohol service is legal. Two of those towns, Aiken and Rock Hill, report that there have been no problems since the legislation passed. The city of Anderson, where restaurants began Sunday alcohol sales in April, likewise reports that there has not been any increase in drunken driving incidents, crime or lawlessness. Rather, city officials point to positive development and increasing revenues, including two resulting annexations.

Though even one death caused by drunken driving is one too many, there just doesn’t seem to be any convincing evidence to support the position of Strengthening Florence Families. But preventing restaurant owners from selling alcohol one day a week isn’t likely to draw new hardcore drinkers to the roadways — they are already there, considering the estimated 42 private establishments in Florence that serve alcohol on Sunday.

Lifting the ban, however, is likely to fill our local dining rooms on Sunday with adults who can responsibly enjoy a drink with a meal. Restaurants will enjoy greater revenues and, as a result, there will be more job opportunities created. New businesses will be drawn to our area, and Florence will become a more attractive dining and lodging option for travelers who would bypass us otherwise for the more relaxed environments of Lumberton, N.C., or Columbia.

While representatives of Strengthening Florence Families told us the campaign to keep “Sunday Safe and Sober” was a “health issue” and not religiously motivated, we can’t help but feel that isn’t the case. If alcoholism is the real issue, then we think they could better serve this community by addressing social problems, such as poverty and education that contribute to alcohol problems in the first place.

Florence is home to a diverse population with diverse religious practices and beliefs. If citizens choose to abstain from alcohol on Sunday, that’s their right.

Ordering a glass of wine at a restaurant during Sunday dinner should be their right, too.