news

Jimmy Espy: Free to choose

Dalton Daily Citizen

Gov. Sonny Perdue was asked this week his view on Sunday alcohol sales in Georgia. The governor said he was opposed to the idea, comparing legalizing Sunday sales to legalizing prostitution.

Huh?

For the record, Perdue is governor of a state that already allows alcohol sales in some form seven days a week (including by the drink in restaurants on Sundays.) Legislation proposed this week would allow Sunday alcohol sales at convenience stores and grocery stores, if local voters approve. (A House committee added the local option to a Senate bill which would OK beer to be sold at a Gwinnett County stadium housing an Atlanta Braves minor league team.)

The sale of alcohol, like it or not, is part of the fabric of everyday life in Georgia. It is regulated by state and local laws.

Is the governor saying what is moral and legally acceptable in some form seven days of the week, in restaurants on Sundays and possibly at ballparks on Sunday afternoon, is comparable to prostitution? Is he saying that my quaffing a fine Belgian beer at Planet of the Grapes last Saturday was the equivalent of paying for a tryst with a working girl?

As Mr. Spock would say, “That, Captain, is illogical.”

Let’s do away with the prostitution comparison for the moment and cut to the heart of the matter.

Should adults be able to purchase voluntarily a legal product whenever they choose to do so?

Yup.

Should private companies be allowed to sell legal products whenever they choose to do so?

Yup.

Unfortunately our society has ceded government — federal, state and local — too much control over our lives. The sale of alcohol is just one of a million areas where government has no business sticking its nose. Not George Bush. Not Sonny Perdue. Not Brian Anderson nor David Pennington.

Now, back to the governor and those hookers.

The governor uses the comparison to prostitution confident that the majority of Georgia residents wouldn’t tolerate the idea of legalized prostitution.

He may be right on the public’s view. But he’s wrong on his implied point.

Should a person be able to voluntarily use their body for financial gain?

Yup.

Government has no more business regulating this voluntary transaction than it does telling you when you should buy beer or what color you paint your house.

Please note, I am not advocating that anyone drink, hook, or splash purple paint on their roof. What I am arguing is that in a truly free country you have the right to do so. The ethical validity of these behaviors is certainly debatable but as independent moral agents we should be free to reject or endorse this kind of behavior for our own reasons.

See, politics isn’t so tough.


Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen. Direct your abuse/differences of opinion to him at jimmyespy@daltoncitizen.com