Tiny Teetotaling Tyrannies Topple. Or Not.

Marijuana prohibition is
on its way out, and so is alcohol prohibition. Still. The 21st
amendment, which took effect in December 1933, repealed the
national ban on “intoxicating liquors,” leaving their regulation to
the states. Eighty-one years later, parts of America remain
alcohol-free zones, as reflected in yesterday’s elections.

Arkansas voters rejected
a constitutional amendment that would have done away with “wet” and
“dry” counties, making the sale of alcoholic beverages legal
throughout the state. The measure was supported by just 43 percent
of voters. The Associated Press
reports that “opponents vastly outspent supporters in the
campaign, with much of the money coming from liquor stores in wet
counties.” Liquor stores were also part of the coalition against
the 2010 ballot
initiative that made the entire city of Dallas wet, one of my
happiest experiences with democracy.

In Alabama, another state that lets local governments ban
alcohol sales, the residents of Hartselle, which a local TV station
calls “Alabama’s driest city,” decided to
stay that way, although 48 percent of voters wanted to go wet. On
the brighter side, Connecticut is all wet now that residents of the
last dry town, Bridgewater, have decided to
tolerate the booze trade, and so is Smith County, Texas, now that
Justice of the Peace Precinct 5, which includes the towns of
Lindale, Hideaway, Mount Sylvan, Garden Valley, and Swan, has voted
to repeal prohibition. From my experience in Dallas, I gather that
justice of the peace precincts in Texas are anachronistic
subdivisions with only one remaining purpose: making you drive
further than you’d like to buy a six-pack.

In South Carolina, which until 2005
forced bars and restaurants to serve liquor out of teeny-tiny
bottles for no rational reason that anyone could ever explain, two
cities (Clemson and Pendleton) and two counties (Spartanburg and
Oconee)
voted to allow alcohol sales on Sunday. Majorities also backed
Sunday sales in
Kaufman, Texas;
Adairsville, Georgia;
Centerville, Ohio; and various
other places. Minneapolis voters
abolished a rule mandating that restaurants derive no more than
30 percent of their revenue from beer and wine sales.

Voters in Ranlo, North Carolina, delivered a mixed
verdict, allowing local stores and restaurants to sell
cocktails but not beer or wine. The Gaston
Gazette notes
that “only 909 people voted on the malt beverage and unfortified
wine measures,” while “917 people voted on the mixed beverage
question.” Cocktails won by three votes.