Yes on Question One

At the grocery store today, a flier was stuck in my bag: "Vote Yes on Question One." No surprise that the Big Y supermarket chain is lobbying for passage. Question One proposes that the sale of wine in grocery stores be permitted.

Consumers in most other states can already buy wine in food stores. But in Massachusetts, liquor stores have a monopoly, which of course allows them to charge higher prices for wine. If Question One passes, individual towns could decide whether or not to issue licenses to retail establishments selling the range of food products "typically found in a grocery store"--supermarkets, wholesale clubs, gourmet shops, but not the gas station or candy store, for example. The number of licenses available would depend on town population.

Question One only deals with the sale of wine, not beer or spirits. Wine is normally consumed with meals, so its sale in food stores makes sense. Wine is not the drink of choice for minors looking to go wild. And anyway, in other states grocery stores have a better track record than liquor stores of complying with regulations concerning the sale of alcohol.

A bottle of Chardonnay can't be more dangerous than a tube of Crest. Grocery stores are already allowed to sell that! Even MADD is in favor of the passage of Question One. I wonder how Homeland Security and the TSA stand on the issue?