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Two bills that would repeal or revise our laws on liquor sales are up for hearing in the Colorado Legislature today.
One would allow supermarkets and convenience stores to sell beer and wine, a move opposed by liquor store owners. They’ve countered with a second proposal which would allow them to stay open on Sunday.
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The pros and cons in a nutshell:
Supermarkets, which can only sell 3.2 percent alcohol beer now, say liquor stores have an unfair monopoly and shoppers deserve more options.
But liquor stores say the supermarket bill would benefit out-of-state corporations and hurt homegrown Colorado businesses that have been fostered by the state’s liquor laws.
The position of the liquor store owners is outlined in this Grand Junction Sentinel article. One of the bills’ co-sponsors, Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, says the liquor store owners are exaggerating.
This is a very hot-button issue for a lot of folks. Where do you come down? Is the convenience of one-stop shopping more important than the fiscal interests of the mom-and-pop liquor store owners? Or is that not the real issue?