So now Georgians can vote on Sunday alcohol sales. Will wonders never cease?

I have lived in Georgia all my life (save the stint in Nashville for college and a brief period of insanity when I lived in Manhattan). For as far back as I can remember, buying alcohol in this state has been a pain in the a**. I mean, I remember my parents used to plan their whole day around it. You see, the county in which I grew up was a dry one. It was DeKalb, by the way. Kinda funny, huh? I hear you can buy crack at the grocery stores there now, but this was a long time ago.

My parents used to pack all us kids up in the car and drive to a whole other county just to buy alcohol - and I don't even remember them drinking...ever! I used to think alcohol was a big secret, illegal thing, something the Commies invented to lead otherwise God-fearing families astray. It was that big of a deal.

Many times over the years I remember lawmakers shouting, arguing, pleading and crying over this issue. Many times I am reminded of hearing one particular moral leader looking into the TV camera and saying that God would obliterate the state of Georgia with His wrath if we ever sank low enough to sell alcohol on Sundays. As a newspaper reporter, I have covered many stories on the subject, each one heated, emotional and morally weighted.

And here we are. On March 16, 2011, the all-knowing powers-that-be finally decided to turn the issue over to the incompetent voters to let them decide whether their local government will allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays. I have heard it said before that you can't legislate morality. Well of course you can, or at least you can try. That's what we're all about in the South, right? We've always believed that the perception of something is more important than the reality of it. In other words, "if we don's sell it on Sundays, then surely people aren't drinking it on Sundays!"

But the true devotees soon figured out that they could buy their alcohol on Saturdays, in preparation for Sundays. They figured out that they could drive to a restaurant allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays (by the drink), then drive home. Good plan, by the way.

I think the matter boils down to the person,and not the liquid. If you're prone to abusing alcohol, the day of the week doesn't matter. If you really, really want to get your hands on alcohol on the Lord's day, you will. In fact, I'll go you one better. I think the LORD knows that if you want to get your hands on some alcohol, you will. I think He knows that if you abuse it, you'll do it whenever you please. I think He knows that the implications of buying alcohol on Saturday are the same as the ones associated with buying it on Sunday.

Long story short, thanks Georgia legialators. We voters'll take it from here.