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Colorado Liquor Stores Gearing Up For Sunday Sales

Sunday Liquor Sales Begin July 6

POSTED: 12:34 pm MDT June 29, 2008
UPDATED: 12:56 pm MDT June 29, 2008

Independent liquor stores are gearing up for an extra consumer rush on July 6 when it becomes legal for them to sell liquor, wine and beer on Sundays.

Dozens of new Colorado laws go into effect July 1. But consumers -- and retailers -- will have to wait for the first Sunday of July to celebrate the liquor law change.

Story: Summary of Colo. laws going into effect July 1

"When they did this in other states, it didn't just spread business out another day, they had a lot more customers," said Ron Vaughn, owner of Argonaut Wine and Liquor in Denver.

Vaughn's store will be open that Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but if customers want him to stay open later, Vaughn says the customers are always right.

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Gov. Bill Ritter, who gave his stamp of approval in April, said times have changed since a 1933 law banned Sunday sales to protect the Christian sabbath. Ritter said there was "great public sentiment" to change the law, calling it a benefit for consumers who only have Sundays to shop.

"This is a law whose time has finally come. The ban on Sunday sales was an antiquated law that long ago outlived its usefulness or relevance. Everything we know about modern consumer demand says the people of Colorado want the conveniences, options and choices this law will bring. This is about stepping into the 21st century," Ritter said.

Colorado is the 35th state to permit Sunday alcohol sales at retail stores. It's the 13th state to pass such a law since 2002, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the trade group that has lobbied for such laws across the country.

The council lost an attempt to repeal the Colorado blue law three years ago. Liquor stores opposed a change then, but that changed last year when owners learned supermarkets wanted to sell full-strength beer and wine.

A Senate committee killed the supermarket proposal in February, saying it would hurt Colorado's independent liquor stores and the craft brewers that the stores promote.

Supermarkets and convenience stores are now pushing for legislation to allow them to sell full-strength beer, arguing that it's not fair to keep them selling only 3.2 percent beer.

Other laws going into effect Tuesday include a measure requiring a higher standard for the state's adverse possession laws, which allow someone to claim another person's property if they have had access to that property for at least 18 years. It also will become a misdemeanor for anyone to trick online ticket sites into selling more than the maximum number of tickets available. Concert goers and baseball fans have used online tactics to get around rules limiting ticket sales, leaving thousands of others unable to get tickets.


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