Gather those half-pints of Kessler ...

As the Brewers of Indiana Guild met on the fourth floor of the Statehouse yesterday to testify before the Senate committee on behalf of Sunday carry-out sales at microbreweries and brewpubs, a House committee one floor below was hearing arguments of a different sort.

Bill would permit alcohol sales during elections, by Lesley Stedman Weidenbener (Courier-Journal).

INDIANAPOLIS – Bars and restaurants could sell alcohol while the polls are open on Election Day and stay open later to accommodate Sunday night crowds under bills that a House committee will vote on next week.

Unsurprisingly, I have an opinion on both of these topics.

As for adjusted Sunday opening hours, yes. Why should Sunday be any different than Monday, Wednesday or Friday?

In like fashion, the prohibition of all Sunday alcohol sales on Christmas Day should be ended, too. Both of these standpoints are remnants of “blue laws” that derive from deference to a particular religious standpoint. You can have your swimsuit models, because I fantasize about the day when the ACLU intervenes to strike down these and other anachronisms that violate church-state separation.

The same applies to Election Day sales. I’ve written on this topic numerous times, and defy you to show me how drunken voting can be any more dim-witted than casting ballots while sober. We should be encouraging drinking before voting, not discouraging it.

What are the odds of passage for these measures? I’ve no idea. Yesterday we spoke to eleven state senators, two of whom were as impervious to logic as future steaks chewing their cuds on the farm. Nine others seemed reasonable. As long as some legislators continue to consult their Bibles rather than the Constitution before making up their minds, anything can happen, and probably will.