The Dunn Daily Record

Rev. Mark H. Creech
March 5, 2003

Recently, Sen. Charlie Albertson (D-Beluaville) introduced SB -- 19 Township ABC Elections which revises GS 18B-600(f). Simply put, the measure is aimed at giving the western side of Harnett County (where many people live but there are no incorporated towns) the opportunity to choose whether or not to have alcohol sales. The bill would allow the people to vote not just on beer and wine sales from grocery stores, but also on whether to have fortified wines, liquor stores and liquor-by-the-drink. Currently, no such elections are allowed.

Harnett County Commissioners and the Harnett Forward Together Committee, an economic development group, are pushing for the legislation. Their contention is that it is unfair for cities in Harnett County to be able to have alcohol elections but not unincorporated areas like those in the western part of the county. The problem with that kind of logic, however, is that it doesn’t really address the problem of fairness. Why is it right for communities in western Harnett to be allowed to have alcohol elections if other communities outside of the cities are not allowed to have them too? The answer is simple: it isn’t fair!!! That’s the purpose of the current law allowing for countywide referendums.

The truth be told, this legislation is an effort by the Harnett Forward Together Committee and the Harnett County Commissioners to get around a countywide referendum. They are well aware that they are unlikely to secure the passage of a county referendum. (The last countywide referendum on alcohol sales in Harnett County was defeated by 3,356 votes to 1,667 in 1994.) So, they made an end-run around the county referendum process, which consequently will create less uniformity and more unfairness in the alcohol referenda system.

Unfortunately, County Commissioner Tim McNeill has mischaracterized the issue by implying that the Christian Action League’s position on SB 19-Township ABC Elections is religiously based and one of prohibition. According to The Daily Record, McNeill said CAL’s opposition was “unfortunate.” He added, “It’s not a religious issue…The people who are drinking are going to drink…If not having it out in the townships would keep people from drinking, I would be opposed to it…. but its not going to keep them from drinking.” Indeed, the Christian Action League understands that the issue is not simply a religious one and the days of prohibition are long over. We can’t keep people from drinking. But our position is not focused on that debate; our position primarily has to do with keeping the strictest forms of control on alcohol sales and consumption. Lesser accessibility to alcohol creates a scenario for less consumption, therefore, less alcohol-related problems.

If this legislation (SB 19 -- Township ABC Elections) passes and township elections result in the approval of alcohol sales in Western Harnett, it will most certainly produce an increase in alcohol outlets resulting in an increase in alcohol-related problems.

Researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center determined that Americans who have easy access to alcohol usually drink more. In neighborhoods where alcohol availability is greater, the whole distribution of drinkers is shifted toward heavier drinking and more permissive norms,” said Richard Scribner, Professor of Preventive Medicine at the school. “They all think it’s okay to drink a little bit more than people in other neighborhoods. It’s almost a cultural effect.” Researchers also discovered that neighborhoods where alcohol was easily accessible had higher rates of homicides, violent assaults and drunk driving offenses.

George Hacker, Director of The Alcohol Policies Project at the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest said, “This study sends a warning signal and a message to communities to take a good look beyond individual factors and start looking at community factors. Policies that regulate the density of alcohol outlets are very important.”

If alcohol sales for liquor-by-the-drink are approved in western Harnett communities, these communities will have no control over who gets a liquor license. County officials may say that the measure will be good for business; but because the state and not the community grants licenses, there is no way to prevent sleazy bars from getting liquor licenses and setting up in these areas.

Moreover, there are currently only 86 ALE Field Agents to police over 16,000 alcohol outlets across the state. Any thinking person ought to know that so few agents could not possibly or effectively monitor so many establishments. An increase of outlets in Harnett County would only further exacerbate this problem.

County Commissioner McNeill says, “We’re looking at it (SB-19 Township ABC Elections) as strictly an economic development issue.” It is truly sad when public officials sworn to protect and serve the people crassly demonstrate that they are only concerned about “the bottom line.” But there is much more to consider!

No one in Harnett County is set to significantly benefit from the passage of this legislation but the alcohol industry and its alcohol outlets. According to the Alcohol/Drug Council of North Carolina, for every $1 generated in tax revenue from alcohol sales in our state there is a corresponding expenditure of $21.42 to clean up the mess.

So, what’s this legislation really about? It’s about putting certain businesses from western Harnett in the position for a windfall of alcohol profits at the expense of the safety and welfare of the citizens of western Harnett. And I assure you, that is not a mischaracterization of the issue.

Rev. Mark H. Creech is executive director of the Raleigh-based Christian Action League of North Carolina, Inc.