Once again, the Minnesota Senate has rejected a vote to repeal the ban on Sunday liquor sales here in Minnesota. But I've always wondered...why?

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According to a story in the Star Tribune, "The Minnesota Senate again rejected a push to repeal the state’s 80-year-old ban on Sunday liquor sales by a closer-than-ever margin, while a measure to allow the Sunday sale of growlers from taprooms became a step closer to law. After an hour-long debate, the Senate voted down the measure, 35-28."

Having moved to Minnesota only three years ago from Wisconsin -- where buying liquor on Sunday isn't only legal, it's practically encouraged -- I don't quite get why this law is still on the books here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. What purpose does it serve?

I've read that some liquor stores fear repealing the Sunday liquor ban would cost them money by essentially forcing them to be open on Sundays, which then wouldn't generate enough sales to offset the cost of being open. Not that I know much about it, but it seems to me that if the law were repealed, and you felt you'd lose money by being open on Sunday, then it seems pretty simple: don't be open on Sundays-- the state wouldn't force you to be open.

But if there WERE liquor stores that wanted to open on Sundays (particularly ones near the Wisconsin and Iowa borders, where liquor sales are allowed), I don't see why the state is telling them they can't.

Now, did I frequent liquor stores on Sunday when I lived in Wisconsin? Not really. Has it been a hardship for me since living in Minnesota? Again, not really. But it's always seemed weird that the state continues to keep this 80-year old law on the books. What do you think?

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