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Kristen Westrick
English 1101
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Kristen Westrick
English 1101
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The "Brunch Bill Battle
House Bill 535, otherwise known as the Sunday “brunch bill”, is one of topics being discussed for the third year in a row at Georgia’s General Assembly that takes place throughout
the month of March. This bill removes the previous restriction placed on selling alcohol on Sundays, now granting restaurants the power to serve alcohol before 12:30 p.m. Members of the
House of Representatives persistently push for the bill’s passing, while members of the Senate are unbudging with their refusal of it. Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert rejects the proposal
on the basis of protecting the religious concerns while the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Brett Harrell, desires the bill’s passing due to the potential revenue that can be earned. By analyzing both sides of the conflict, whether or not the “Brunch bill” should finally be passed may be revealed.
During an interview with a reporter from the Atlanta Journal Constitution , Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert goes into detail as to why he refuses to support the passage of the
“brunch bill”. He speaks about how passing the bill would offend the religious community that makes up a sizable portion of Georgia’s residents. Cowser continues on to say “‘We have some obligation to respect that majority of the population. . . That's a very small sacrifice for the millennial: On one of the seven days of the week, to not be able to start drinking until 12:30 p.m. --- at least not in a restaurant. They're certainly free to make a mimosa at home if they'd like to’” (Torres,"Senate Blocks Earlier Liquor Sales on Sunday”.) Cowsert’s statement can be factually proven. In a recent study poll done by Gallup , 177,030 adult U.S citizens were used to categorize every state by their appearance at church (Newport, "Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont”.) Georgia ranked #8 in the poll, earning its place in the top 10 states with the highest level of church attendance (Newport.) Cowsert’s decision to avoid conflict with the majority is reasonable.
However, if the “brunch bill” does pass, the religious community won’t only be offended, but may also demonstrate opposition towards the government.The article containing the
interview with Cowsert explains this by saying, “What's officially known as House Bill 535 passed the state House last year, but. . .passage of the bill would upset what he called a "fragile
compromise" between legislative leaders and the faith community over banning alcohol sales on Sunday morning” (Torres, “"Senate Blocks Earlier Liquor Sales on Sunday”.) But what has the government done to damage the relationship between the two? The most harmful blow was dealt with the legalization of same sex marriage throughout the Unites States. The churches that make up a large percentage of the United State’ religious population, namely mainline Christian denominations, have the strongest opposition to same sex marriages. “Because religious actors have been a driving force behind opposition to gay marriage, it seems counter-intuitive to argue that gaymarriage can be considered a religious right” (Delaet and Caufield 297.) These churches harbor feelings of resentment towards the government because of the ruling. Because of this, the bill’s passing can lead to unknown repercussions.
State Rep. Brett Harrell’s primary reason for constantly pushing for the passing of the “brunch bill” is due to the potential revenue that can be earned by allowing restaurants to sell alcohol before 12:30 p.m. Aaron Sheinin discussed this in an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution saying,“The Georgia Restaurant Association. . . estimated the bill would generate
$450 to $480 in new sales per Sunday for each restaurant that is affected.There are 4,000 restaurants that could qualify. . . Over 52 Sundays a year, that adds up to nearly $100 million”
("'Brunch Bill' Cruises through House: Sunday Alcohol Sales could be Expanding”.) Georgia’s economy can be stimulated with that amount of money.
Not only will Georgia miss out on boosting their economy, Georgia could be jeopardizing the lives of its residence by not passing the “brunch bill”. In a different interview, Harrell says that there would be extra tax revenue for state and local governments of around $11 million (Torres, "5 Things to Know about Georgia's Sunday 'Better Brunch Bill'”.) According to an article titled Atlantans on Foot --- and in Danger , “ Georgia has seen a spike in deadly pedestrian accidents the past two years, with roughly half occurring on metro Atlanta roads. . . . But Rader, the county commissioner, said the county doesn't have the money to do a traffic study, much less pedestrian improvements” (Simmons and Schrade.) Local and state governments can definitely benefit from possessing the extra tax revenue, potentially saving lives by constructing the much needed sidewalks that are lacking in Georgia.
Both sides of the conflict have pros and cons. Passing the “brunch bill” gives state and local governments and employees of the restaurants extra revenue at the expense of straining the
already fragile relationship with the religious community. Rejecting the bill keeps the relationship between the twos groups somewhat stable while losing out on an opportunity to keep pedestrians around Georgia safe by adding sidewalks. Will the “brunch bill” be rejected for the third time, or will it finally taste victory? Whether it gets rejected or passed will be answered at the conclusion of Georgia’s General Assembly
the month of March. This bill removes the previous restriction placed on selling alcohol on Sundays, now granting restaurants the power to serve alcohol before 12:30 p.m. Members of the
House of Representatives persistently push for the bill’s passing, while members of the Senate are unbudging with their refusal of it. Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert rejects the proposal
on the basis of protecting the religious concerns while the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Brett Harrell, desires the bill’s passing due to the potential revenue that can be earned. By analyzing both sides of the conflict, whether or not the “Brunch bill” should finally be passed may be revealed.
During an interview with a reporter from the Atlanta Journal Constitution , Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert goes into detail as to why he refuses to support the passage of the
“brunch bill”. He speaks about how passing the bill would offend the religious community that makes up a sizable portion of Georgia’s residents. Cowser continues on to say “‘We have some obligation to respect that majority of the population. . . That's a very small sacrifice for the millennial: On one of the seven days of the week, to not be able to start drinking until 12:30 p.m. --- at least not in a restaurant. They're certainly free to make a mimosa at home if they'd like to’” (Torres,"Senate Blocks Earlier Liquor Sales on Sunday”.) Cowsert’s statement can be factually proven. In a recent study poll done by Gallup , 177,030 adult U.S citizens were used to categorize every state by their appearance at church (Newport, "Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont”.) Georgia ranked #8 in the poll, earning its place in the top 10 states with the highest level of church attendance (Newport.) Cowsert’s decision to avoid conflict with the majority is reasonable.
However, if the “brunch bill” does pass, the religious community won’t only be offended, but may also demonstrate opposition towards the government.The article containing the
interview with Cowsert explains this by saying, “What's officially known as House Bill 535 passed the state House last year, but. . .passage of the bill would upset what he called a "fragile
compromise" between legislative leaders and the faith community over banning alcohol sales on Sunday morning” (Torres, “"Senate Blocks Earlier Liquor Sales on Sunday”.) But what has the government done to damage the relationship between the two? The most harmful blow was dealt with the legalization of same sex marriage throughout the Unites States. The churches that make up a large percentage of the United State’ religious population, namely mainline Christian denominations, have the strongest opposition to same sex marriages. “Because religious actors have been a driving force behind opposition to gay marriage, it seems counter-intuitive to argue that gaymarriage can be considered a religious right” (Delaet and Caufield 297.) These churches harbor feelings of resentment towards the government because of the ruling. Because of this, the bill’s passing can lead to unknown repercussions.
State Rep. Brett Harrell’s primary reason for constantly pushing for the passing of the “brunch bill” is due to the potential revenue that can be earned by allowing restaurants to sell alcohol before 12:30 p.m. Aaron Sheinin discussed this in an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution saying,“The Georgia Restaurant Association. . . estimated the bill would generate
$450 to $480 in new sales per Sunday for each restaurant that is affected.There are 4,000 restaurants that could qualify. . . Over 52 Sundays a year, that adds up to nearly $100 million”
("'Brunch Bill' Cruises through House: Sunday Alcohol Sales could be Expanding”.) Georgia’s economy can be stimulated with that amount of money.
Not only will Georgia miss out on boosting their economy, Georgia could be jeopardizing the lives of its residence by not passing the “brunch bill”. In a different interview, Harrell says that there would be extra tax revenue for state and local governments of around $11 million (Torres, "5 Things to Know about Georgia's Sunday 'Better Brunch Bill'”.) According to an article titled Atlantans on Foot --- and in Danger , “ Georgia has seen a spike in deadly pedestrian accidents the past two years, with roughly half occurring on metro Atlanta roads. . . . But Rader, the county commissioner, said the county doesn't have the money to do a traffic study, much less pedestrian improvements” (Simmons and Schrade.) Local and state governments can definitely benefit from possessing the extra tax revenue, potentially saving lives by constructing the much needed sidewalks that are lacking in Georgia.
Both sides of the conflict have pros and cons. Passing the “brunch bill” gives state and local governments and employees of the restaurants extra revenue at the expense of straining the
already fragile relationship with the religious community. Rejecting the bill keeps the relationship between the twos groups somewhat stable while losing out on an opportunity to keep pedestrians around Georgia safe by adding sidewalks. Will the “brunch bill” be rejected for the third time, or will it finally taste victory? Whether it gets rejected or passed will be answered at the conclusion of Georgia’s General Assembly
Works Cited
Aaron, Gould S. "'Brunch Bill' Cruises through House: Sunday Alcohol Sales could be Expanding. Restaurants Say Move would Create Millions in Additional Sales." The Atlanta
Journal - Constitution, Mar 14, 2015, Atlanta Journal & Constitution; ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login? url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/1663289615?accountid=11226 .
Delaet, Debra L., and Rachel P. Caufield. "Gay Marriage as a Religious Right: Reframing the Legal Debate Over Gay Marriage in the United States*." Polity, vol. 40, no. 3, 2008, pp. 297,
ProQuest Central; ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection; Research Library, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/21021520
2?accountid=11226, doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.gsu.edu/10.1057/palgrave.polity.2300103 .
Newport, Frank. "Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont." Gallup Poll Briefing, 17 Feb. 2015, p. 1. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login? url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=10 1317705&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Simmons, Andria, and Brad Schrade. "Atlantans on Foot --- and in Danger: As Deaths Spike, those Shaped by One Incident Look Back." The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, Jun 01, 2014,
Atlanta Journal & Constitution; ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/15307496
10?accountid=11226.
Torres, Kristina. "5 Things to Know about Georgia's Sunday 'Better Brunch Bill'." TCA Regional News, Apr 14, 2016, ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/1780811778?accountid=11226 .
Torres, Kristina. "Senate Blocks Earlier Liquor Sales on Sunday: Religious Concerns Stall Consideration of 'Brunch Bill.'." The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, Mar 12, 2016, Atlanta
Journal & Constitution; ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/1772414417?accountid=11226 .
Journal - Constitution, Mar 14, 2015, Atlanta Journal & Constitution; ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login? url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/1663289615?accountid=11226 .
Delaet, Debra L., and Rachel P. Caufield. "Gay Marriage as a Religious Right: Reframing the Legal Debate Over Gay Marriage in the United States*." Polity, vol. 40, no. 3, 2008, pp. 297,
ProQuest Central; ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection; Research Library, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/21021520
2?accountid=11226, doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.gsu.edu/10.1057/palgrave.polity.2300103 .
Newport, Frank. "Frequent Church Attendance Highest in Utah, Lowest in Vermont." Gallup Poll Briefing, 17 Feb. 2015, p. 1. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login? url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=10 1317705&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Simmons, Andria, and Brad Schrade. "Atlantans on Foot --- and in Danger: As Deaths Spike, those Shaped by One Incident Look Back." The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, Jun 01, 2014,
Atlanta Journal & Constitution; ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/15307496
10?accountid=11226.
Torres, Kristina. "5 Things to Know about Georgia's Sunday 'Better Brunch Bill'." TCA Regional News, Apr 14, 2016, ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/1780811778?accountid=11226 .
Torres, Kristina. "Senate Blocks Earlier Liquor Sales on Sunday: Religious Concerns Stall Consideration of 'Brunch Bill.'." The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, Mar 12, 2016, Atlanta
Journal & Constitution; ProQuest Central; ProQuest Newsstand, http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/docview/1772414417?accountid=11226 .