TENNESSEE
GROCERS & CONVENIENCE STORE ASSOCIATION REACTS
TO LAW
ENFORCEMENT NEWS CONFERENCE
ON THE SALE OF
WINE IN RETAIL FOOD STORES
It is disappointing that the liquor
retailers would hide behind law enforcement officials in an effort to keep
Tennessee consumers from having a voice in the wine in retail food stores
debate.
A vote by the legislature in favor
of the proposed bill will not place wine in our stores. Passage would only
allow local communities to decide through a referendum as to whether wine would
be available at retail food stores.
We respect law enforcement and
have worked closely with them on the issue of underage drinking. The issue of
wine in retail food stores has been debated for five years, and the statements
made today mark the first time that a group of law enforcement officials has
officially come out against the measure. We can only take that as a sign that
the liquor lobby is concerned about the possibility of the bill passing and led
the effort to bring the group together this morning.
If law enforcement is concerned
about increased access to alcoholic beverages, then surely they will be opposed
to future referendums on liquor-by-the-drink and package store availability,
which are also handled on the local level.
The statement
that increased access to wine is a public safety issue has been proved false by
numerous sources, including the FBI. Wine sales in
retail food stores are not linked to drunk driving or underage drinking. A study issued in December 2011 by the American
Association of Wine Economists and Cornell University showed that "states with
higher rates of wine consumption as a share of total alcohol consumption have
lower rates of traffic fatalities."
In addition,
states that allow the sale of wine in grocery stores had an average of 21.7
fewer youth liquor violations per 100,000 residents than did states without
wine in grocery stores (FBI).
Tennessee's retail food stores
asked for and helped to pass the Responsible Vendor Law. Under this law, all
customers purchasing alcohol at a retail food store must show proof of age.
Liquor stores do not have to abide by the same requirements.
Again, retail food stores look
forward to a healthy and civil legislative debate on the subject of wine in
retail food stores and the bill to allow local referendums. Upward of 70
percent of Tennesseans want to purchase wine where they shop for food. We urge
the Tennessee General Assembly to let Tennesseans vote on this issue.
-Jarron Springer, Tennessee Grocers President
