Kansas Debates Sunday Liquor Sales

You can't buy liquor in Kansas on Sundays and some people want to keep it that way - unfortunately, they are having trouble explaining why. In all candor, their position is ultimately religious - they don't approve of liquor being sold on the Christian sabbath. That, however, isn't a political argument they can make. They try to offer moral and practical arguments that aren't based upon religion, but they are awfully lame.

The Arkansas City Traveler explains:

[S]enators who oppose Sunday sales argue that such sales will lead to more drunks on the highways, increase access to alcohol for underage drinkers and take away the only day off for mom-and-pop liquor store owners. Those all are legitimate arguments. But some legislators making them oppose Sunday sales because the policy would deviate from a long-standing Kansas tradition that goes back well before Carry Nation, whose temperance crusade against illegal saloons in the early 1900s earned her national renown.

All of those arguments would work for banning liquor sales on Tuesday, as well. So why not that day?

One of the few lawmakers who hasn't shied away from religious arguments against Sunday sales is Republican Sen. Bob Lyon, a structural engineer from Winchester. Last week, when the Senate debated the issue, he implored his colleagues to consider what the Bible had to say. ''You hear people say the roots of this Sunday sales ban go back to prohibition,'' Lyon said Friday morning. ''In reality, it's a Sabbath day issue that goes back to the Fourth Commandment. That's where this law and all blue laws have their roots.'' Lyon said he's concerned that the Legislature has a tendency to ignore the importance of biblical law in favor of financial considerations. ''This is more of a Lord's day issue than it is an alcohol issue,'' Lyon said. ''There's a principle here. It's an issue that, if I'm the only one who brings it up, so be it. People need to be aware of what we're doing. In effect, we're saying that biblical law really has no relationship with civil law.''

That's exactly right, Bob! Civil laws are supposed to be completely independent of the biblical laws you personally believe that you should follow. If you attempt to impose your biblical laws on others, you are abusing your power and authority as an elected representative. You should step down from political office and step up to pulpit where your efforts would be better served - if you have the courage of your convictions, that is.

Somehow, I doubt that Bob Lyon will step down - people like this just wouldn't have anything to do with themselves if they weren't trying to impose their personal religious beliefs and doctrines on everyone else.

Ultimately, the bill that would have made Kansas' alcohol laws uniform and allowed for Sunday sales failed.

Read More:

• Secularism 101
• Separation of Church and State 101