Girard ? Voters here will decide Oct. 18 whether to allow Sunday alcohol sales in their city.

The Girard City Council had passed an ordinance allowing Sunday sales, but 58 people signed a petition calling for a vote.

The Kansas Legislature passed a law this year allowing governments to approve Sunday sales, but it also gives residents the right to petition for a vote.

Iris Elliot, wife of the man who started the petition drive, told the City Council on Monday that she would consider it a sin not to tell the public that Sunday sales were morally wrong.

But Councilman Dan Smith said businesses should have a chance to sell beer and alcohol on Sundays if they want.

“I don’t really think that it is right to legislate morality,” he said. “We all know that prohibition did not work.”

Girard, in southeast Kansas, has about 2,770 residents.