An enthusiastic crowd braved the heat on Sunday to tailgate for a cause. There were over half a dozen canopies setup to block the sun and at least four big screen TV's showing NFL games. Kids were running around playing catch and volunteers were cooking up hot dogs. Americana Deluxe, one of Enid's newest bands, entertained the crowd for free.
The tailgaters were made up of families, current and past city commissioners, business owners and football enthusiasts. Organizers of the initiative have named themselves GAP - Garfield Advocates for Progress. They have a Facebook page that can be found here. The tailgate party is just one of the ways the group will try to raise money to educate the public on the vote. Revenue will also come from donations, t-shirt sales and future events.
Most of the crowd was more involved in talking to each other rather than watching football. The discussions centered around the purpose of the event, to pass a law allowing liquor sales on Sunday. The crowd was not there to get drunk or encourage everyone to drink more. They were there to shed light on the fact that Garfield County is being governed by outdated laws.
The way the law reads now, businesses cannot sell or serve any alcohol that is above the 3.2 percentage mark on Sunday. That includes wine and hard liquors. What many see as a flaw in the law is that individuals are free to drink an unlimited number of 3.2 beers on Sunday. So, in essence, you are being told you cannot drink one glass of wine with your Sunday meal but you are free to down a 12-pack of beer.
About 2 1/2 regular beers would equal one glass of wine that contained 7% alcohol. So people need to be aware that the current law does not prevent people from drinking or getting drunk on Sundays. That along with the fact that the law is not consistent statewide. Citizens in Garfield County that want a glass of wine on Sunday can just drive to Oklahoma City and purchase one. There are currently 35 counties that allow the sale of liquor on Sunday.
Mike Stuber made a presentation to Garfield County commissioners at their Feb. 4 meeting, to ask for a vote on allowing liquor sales in restaurants on Sundays in Garfield County. Mike asked Enid Buzz to do an informal poll on our Facebook Page to see what kind of feedback he might get. We certainly did get some reaction. Here's a link to the Liquor on Sunday Poll.
Mike and many in the crowd feel this is about restaurant and retail recruitment more than anything else. There are restaurants that will not locate in an area because they are unable to exercise their business model to its fullest potential. Enid cannot compete on the same playing field as cities that allow alcohol sales on Sunday. For many restaurants that makes up a good percentage of their weekly sales especially places that cater to patrons that like to watch football and have a stronger beer or drink. Conservatively, restaurants lose approximately 40% of their revenue when not allowed to sell liquor or strong beer on Sundays.
Passing the law doesn't mean all restaurants will fling open their doors to sell alcohol on Sundays either. Owners of Callahan's were on hand selling 3.2 beer to the crowd of supporters. They do not intend to open on Sunday's if the law changes but feel it would encourage chain restaurants to look more closely at Enid.
The Garfield County vote to allow liquor and strong beer sales on Sunday will be on October 8th. The current proposal that will be voted on would allow restaurants and clubs to sell alcohol between 10am and midnight on Sundays. It also would allow liquor sales on the holidays of Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day, but would exclude Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This is a county wide vote and not just an Enid decision so everyone should get out and vote no matter what side you're on.
do people really need to drink on Sunday night? Why not go home and get some sleep before MONDAY…or clean your house…
People come to OK all the time and find there is something NOT available, be it Drinks on Sunday, or Porn any day…used to be tattoos too!
So we are different, is that really so bad?
many states don’t allow Alcohol sales on Sunday or holidays or voting days…it really isn’t the end of the earth!
What jac means is people come to Oklahoma all the time and find their freedoms being trampled on. I understand that a few of the Christians out there believe Sunday is some holy day (most only believe that Sunday morning is), but that doesn’t mean I should be forced to share in this belief. I like many others work a rotating schedule at work, this means that Sunday is often my Friday or my Saturday. I should not have to sit at home and relax or clean my house just because of someone else’s religious views. Jac asks the question if it is bad to be different? Well in my opinion, if lack of freedom and liberty are what sets us apart, then put me down for the status quo!
I think one of the issues here is that the same rules don’t apply over all of Oklahoma. On Sundays, my husband & I sometimes go to Oklahoma City to have a nice meal with a glass of wine. Yes, we could do this in Enid any other night, but our day off is Monday — so Sunday is like our “Saturday Night Date”.
My question is why is it your business if someone wants to have a drink on Sunday? They don’t owe you any kind of explanation as to why, whether they work the next day, or any other reason. They are adults. They aren’t up your ass about why you clean your house on Sunday. Maybe they believe housekeeping should be done on Wednesdays. The point is – people should have the right to choose and Enid shouldn’t have to lose out on the revenue and the opportunity to get more/bigger business here just because you don’t want a drink on Sunday. If you don’t want one, don’t have one. It’s really that simple.