NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Seven-day liquor and wine sales will be legal in Tennessee if the governor signs a bill lawmakers passed Wednesday, despite opposition from religious conservatives.
The bill would allow liquor stores to open for business on Sunday, effective immediately, and grocery stores to sell wine on Sunday, starting next January. Liquor and wine could also be sold on holidays, with the exception of Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.
The measure passed in the Tennessee Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 17-11. It cleared the House earlier in the week.
Gov. Bill Haslam has indicated that he will sign the bill, spokeswoman Jennifer Donnals said in an email.
The chief sponsors of the bill were Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Republican from Chattanooga, and Sen. Bill Ketron, a Republican from Murfreesboro.
The Tennessee Pastors Network called passage of the measure “despicable” and accused lawmakers of selling out to special interests. “The Bible Belt state of Tennessee had enjoyed a safe, sacred day of worship with liquor stores being closed on Sunday,” Pastor Dale Walker, president of the network, said in a statement. “This will now change radically. The Republican supermajority in Tennessee has become the party of Big Liquor, passing beer, wine and liquor sales in many new venues, including rural areas for the first time.”
Ketron, while arguing for passage of the bill, said 70 percent of constituents wanted the convenience of buying alcohol on Sundays because that is the day most people now do their shopping. He said times had changed.
“We’re not the same Tennessee that we used to be,” Ketron said.
The lawmaker also said that 40 other states had seven-day alcohol sales and Tennessee was losing money to border states.