House OKs bill to let liquor stores in Carroll sell on Sundays

Annapolis (Map, News) - Carroll County’s ban on liquor stores selling alcohol on Sundays would be lifted under a measure passed by the state House of Delegates.

“It’s about time,” said Brad Brown, founder of the Carroll County Progressives, which opposes the ban. “They’re completely stuck in the past.”

The measure had been supported by liquor store owners in Mount Airy, a town split between Carroll and Frederick County, which allows Sunday sales.

On Sundays, merchants who own stores on the Carroll side of town watch as they lose potential sales to stores across the street.

Ben Golueke, owner of Mount Airy Liquors in Carroll, said that though Sunday is a day devoted to family, the ban is “very detrimental” to his business, and he would obtain a permit to stay open Sunday if he could.

His competition in Frederick is only a quarter-mile away.

Brown said the measure would force Carroll to catch up with the times.

“The commissioners of Carroll County, as well as many other residents, feel they can keep this an agricultural county that represents Christian values and old-school values for many years to come even throughout the urban sprawl that continues to happen and move through the county,” he said.

“It’s about time they started paying attention to the people that live in the county.”

Most store owners in Westminster, the county seat in the center of Carroll, opposed the bill because they thought that if many other stores stayed open on Sunday, it would pressure them to do the same, said Del. Tanya Shewell, a Republican representing Westminster.

Baltimore County forbids liquor stores to sell alcohol on Sunday, except on Sundays before Christmas and New Year’s Day. Baltimore City forbids Sunday sales except between Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day for those issued a special license.

The Carroll bill, which needs Senate approval, would allow stores to sell alcohol from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. It would take effect July 1.

msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com

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