Legislation currently under consideration may allow Kansas liquor stores to open their doors on Sunday.

Are Kansans ready for retail liquor sales on Sunday?

State law currently prohibits liquor stores from doing business on Sunday, but legislators are considering a measure that would allow communities to override that prohibition if they choose.

Officials in Wyandotte County have jumped the gun a bit by passing charter ordinances to allow local retail liquor sales. Their action held up in court, but is being appealed by the Kansas attorney general. Wyandotte County is particularly interested in this issue because Sunday liquor sales are legal just across the state line in Missouri, and Wyandotte County businesses are interested in reaping their share of Sunday profits.

Liquor laws in Kansas have traveled an interesting path. The sale of alcohol was constitutionally prohibited in the state in 1880, and prohibition forces have been strong in the state throughout its history. Over the last several decades the state has had many odd configurations that included allowing liquor by the drink, but only in private clubs, or allowing people to bring their own liquor to clubs that could then serve it to them.

It wasn’t until 1986, that a constitutional amendment was passed in the state to give counties the option of allowing liquor by the drink sales. Douglas County was among the first to take advantage of that option. Thirty-nine the state’s 105 counties still are “dry.”

In many Kansas counties, it’s easy enough to order a drink in a restaurant on Sunday, but retail sales is another matter. Some have suggested that it isn’t appropriate to have stores selling liquor on the same day most churches were holding services. There also has been concern about any move that makes alcohol more available to those who might abuse it. The same argument sometimes is made about expanded gambling operations in the state, but potential revenue from gaming is making many residents and lawmakers reconsider their moral opposition.

Alcoholic beverages are an accepted indulgence in our society. Trying to make sure people who consume alcohol do so legally and responsibly is something that requires attention seven days a week.

Allowing package liquor sales on Sunday isn’t likely to vastly increase alcohol abuse. On the other hand, it’s nice that there still are a few things that set Sunday apart as a day of worship or at least of relaxation and family activities. People accept the fact that you can’t go to the bank or make a doctor’s appointment or go to the liquor store on Sunday. It may be a minor inconvenience, but that’s about all.

If the people of Wyandotte County are convinced they want Sunday liquor sales, maybe the state should allow it. If Wyandotte County officials allow it because they want to compete with their neighbors to the east, then their neighbors to the west, Douglas County, may also feel compelled to follow suit. Lawrence city commissioners already have agreed to investigate the possibilities.

Is it a major issue? Not for most Kansans. But it is an interesting chapter in the history of a state that once was the stomping ground for Carry Nation and her famous hatchet.