South Bend Tribune

Well, that sure wasn’t easy.

In fact, as any Hoosier can attest, lifting Indiana’s ban on Sunday retail alcohol sales has seemed at times a Herculean task.

Despite inconvenience to consumers, a strong majority of whom favor Sunday sales, the Prohibition-era blue law has stuck around — thanks in no small part to the state’s powerful liquor store lobby.

For years, efforts to lift the ban got nowhere. As we noted in a 2014 comment, the issue hadn’t received a committee vote in seven years.

All that changed when lawmakers approved a measure allowing Sunday sales from noon to 8 p.m.

If you’re interested in assigning blame for the long and confounding wait to be able to purchase a bottle of merlot on the second busiest shopping day of the week, state Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, has a thought. Alting faults interest groups, not legislators, for the failure.

It’s worth noting that Alting, chairman of the committee responsible for shaping alcohol laws, has collected more campaign contributions from liquor store interests than any legislator this decade, according to an Associated Press analysis.

But for Hoosiers, this is a time for raising a glass to a victory long overdue. For saying farewell to the dubious distinction of being the only state where you can’t buy packaged beer, wine and liquor on Sundays.

This was distributed by Hoosier State Press Association. Send comments to [email protected].