urbanMSP

Dear Senator Torres Ray:

I'm writing to ask you to vote with your constituents' interests, and to vote to end the Sunday liquor sales ban.

I know that in the past you have voted to uphold the ban, voting against a change to Minnesota's status quo. I know you've done that out of a claim to be helping small businesses, who will be put under greater economic pressure by seven days of sales. I appreciate that concern, but it's legally wrong; and the continued presence of a ban on Sunday sales is an embarrassing undemocratic throwback to Minnesota's protestant-Christian past.

The state of Minnesota has no legitimate governmental interest in preventing liquor stores from operating seven days per week. If protecting small businesses from competition were recognized to be in the government's interest, then such a ban wouldn't just apply to liquor stores. After all, if such protection were important to independent liquor stores, why would it not be important to other small businesses, such as grocery stores, shoe stores, or hardware stores; or even to restaurants, gas stations, or convenience stores? The truth is that in all the other cases, we have recognized that the public's interest in being able to carry on commerce every day of the week is more important than the small business's desire to be protected from larger competition.

The real root of the Sunday sales ban has nothing to do with protecting small business. It's a blue law, rooted in Minnesota's religious past when all Minnesotans were forced by law to be good protestant Christians and abstain from work or "sin" on Sundays. While blue laws have fallen completely by the wayside in other states, Minnesotans can't shake the idea that alcohol is bad, and that the Sabbath should be kept. This is in clear violation of the establishment clause of the US Constitution, and is an outdated intermingling of church and state. The government has no legitimate interest in enforcing religious mores of prohibitionist Protestantism.

Polls of Minnesota have consistently shown that the public favors repeal of this embarrassing, outdated blue law. DFL politicians' misguided desire to protect a small but powerful lobby of small businesses has clouded their vision on this issue and caused many to vote against their constituents' will and against the interests of good governance. While protecting small business against competition may seem an admirable goal, it's not the government's job to pick a few winners, and to protect one special class of business owners while not extending the same protection to all.

Please vote to repeal the Sunday liquor sales ban when it comes to the Senate floor.

Thank you,
Thomas Lindsay

Man, you guys are way more attached to this issue than I think most people are. You can now finally support Erin Murphy after she allowed you to get booze on Sunday? Really? And you really think that the GOP would pick up a full 3 percent of voters based on this one issue? Granted, I'm probably way more off base than you guys, but this all seems far-fetched.

I'd tend to agree that this alone isn't really that big of an issue, but it probably plays well into a narrative that Daudt can spin that pegs the DFL as being beholden to a bunch of fringe groups and not particularly responsive to what "REAL MINNESOTANS" want.

Dear Neighbor,

Thank you for taking the time to connect with my office to express your strong support for Sunday liquor sales.

You and other constituents expressed disappointment with my position on this issue in the past. I have been opposed to this change in legislation since I got elected to the Senate, not because I was unwilling to hear your concerns, or because I‘ve been lobbied by special interests.

I have opposed Sunday liquor sales because we have many small family owned liquor stores in our district who oppose this change. They want to have Sundays off to do their administrative work, and they argue that being opened an extra day would not increase sales, it would only spread sales out over seven days, forcing them to absorb the increase in staffing costs, eventually putting them out of business. They also fear that this is a move towards allowing larger grocery stores into the market, which will definitely put small liquor stores out of business.

I’m a strong supporter of small, family owned business. I’ve often argued that we need to do a better job of representing their voices here at the Capitol; that commitment is what has guided my vote.

Having said all of this, after hearing from so many constituents, I have decided to support Sunday liquor sales this year. You are the voices that I listen to. Your priorities are the priorities I represent.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you in the Minnesota Senate. Your voices have always guided my work at the legislature. I’m thankful for the privilege to represent a community who is constantly engaged in conversations that impact all of us.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss other concerns.

Sincerely,
Senator Patricia Torres Ray