Connecticut has had the “no alcohol on Sundays” law for as long as anyone can remember. It’s been a tradition for ages, and now, mayors are trying to get it abolished.

The mayors of New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport are fighting Governor Jodi Rell in order to get the alcohol ban lifted. They believe that it will help the state budget crisis and increase revenue. According to them, the state would make up to $8 billion annually in extra sales and excise taxes by lifting the ban, therefore saving several governmental programs from being cut.

The government disagrees. State Sen. Thomas Colapietro, the head of the state legislature’s General Law Committee, believes that lifting the ban would not increase the state’s revenue, it would only transfer revenue to grocery stores that are already open on Sundays, therefore, putting the smaller liquor stores in the dark.

One of the best solutions to this predicament is to experiment with making it an option for liquor stores to be open on Sundays. This option opens the door for several other options to take place. If a liquor store is open on Sundays during specific sports seasons, such as football, there would be a definite increase in revenue. If there is an option to close on a day other than Sunday, there can still be that one day off for those liquor stores and they would have the brand new freedom of being able to pick their day off. One of the options of taking a day off would be to adapt to what small restaurants do: close on Mondays. Having this option would definitely opens some doors to new marketing ways and also several new job opportunities.

Now how would this pertain to us CCSU students? Changing the alcohol ban would lead to spreading out the amount of partying that goes on on Thursday nights, therefore, causing less traffic and not as many drunken people out on campus milling about on one night of the week. There would be less of a hassle to Thursday nights.

The Amethyst Initiative, which already tried to persuade university presidents to endorse lowering the drinking age, is, in some ways, very similar to the idea of selling alcohol in stores on Sundays. If this experiment were to be a success, it could lead to the idea of lowering the drinking age to 18 and therefore, lead to a new, relaxed attitude, although that would come with time.

A relaxed attitude towards alcohol is just what the state needs. Connecticut has been too strict about it for too long. It’s time for the state to come to the twenty-first century and understand that it’s good to change things up from time to time. And it doesn’t hurt to experiment with something new; there is only experience to be gained.  These mayors are doing the right thing to add some change to the state and, hopefully, bring about a more relaxed and business-friendly attitude towards alcohol.