Opposing Liquor Store Privatization Initiative
Opposition Announced to Possible Initiative to Privatize Sale of Liquor
Seattle – A broad coalition is forming to oppose an initiative filed in April that proposes to legalize the sale of hard liquor in neighborhood grocery and convenience stores. Opponents to this misguided idea announced that they intend to launch a major campaign to defeat this measure if it were to reach the ballot.
Privatizing liquor is an old idea that has been defeated many times before because of the threat it poses to public safety as a whole and in particular how it makes alcohol more accessible to minors.
It is still not known who the backers of the initiative are as well as unclear if this idea would even qualify for the ballot. One thing for sure is that if this initiative or others like it become more real in coming days, the opposition will be a strong and diverse group of interests including faith leaders, medical and health professionals, as well as others.
“Privatizing liquor sales is a bad idea that threatens the health of our communities - especially low-income communities,” said Reverend Jimmie James of Kent. “It is immoral to put making a profit above public safety. If big grocery stores are looking to push an effort to privatize the sale of hard liquor in their stores they should be ashamed of themselves.”
The opposition also comes from people who see the impact of the abuse of alcohol and what can happen when alcohol gets into the hands of minors even under the current system.
“I see people all the time who come into the Hospital after a car accident caused by alcohol,” said Teri Kruse a Cat Scan Tech, Tacoma General. “Trust me, there is already plenty of access to alcohol that is causing these problems. Why on earth would we ever want to sell liquor in the same stores where we sell Cheerios? Making liquor available in neighborhood grocery stores is bad for our health and bad for our kids.”
And people like fire fighters are among those who can see the impact of this problem on the streets in our communities. “Making hard alcohol more accessible by selling it in grocery stores is not a good idea – it is a potential threat to the public’s health and to the safety of our communities,” Keven Rojecki, a firefighter from Tacoma.
Washington State is one of eighteen states that have not privatized retail and/or wholesale of liquor. The current system of state liquor stores across Washington allows for people of legal age to purchase liquor while at the same time limiting access to liquor by minors. These state run stores generate over $300,000,000 in net revenue for the state while avoiding any profit motive in selling more liquor. The compliance rate of no-sale to minors in the state run stores has been shown to be 94% where as in other states that have privatized the sale of liquor the rates are 75%.
“We have been opposed to this kind of proposal for years and remain opposed to it and feel the emerging coalition of people opposed to it shows how bad the idea is,” said Tom Geiger, communications director for UFCW 21. “We will actively work with health and safety advocates and others to make sure that the public is made fully aware of the dangers to the public safety posed by making liquor available in neighborhood grocery and convenience stores.”
