HAMMOND, LA (AP) — Establishments that serve only alcoholic drinks will remain shuttered in Hammond on Sundays.
The Advocate’s Vic Couvillion reports the city council decided Tuesday against adopting an ordinance that would have changed the years-old law.
Despite pleas from a long procession of speakers advocating a Sunday open bar policy, the council voted 3-2 to reject the measure. Voting to open the bars' doors on Sundays were Councilmen Lemar Marshall and Mike Williams, while Johnny Blount, Jason Hood and Janie Carter Beard voted no.
Marshall, who brought the proposed ordinance before the council, argued that the case for allowing bars to do business on Sundays is a logical one. He pointed out that restaurants with bars in their premises are allowed to sell alcohol all day on Sundays and patrons who choose to drink in such establishments do not have to purchase food. He noted that several such "restaurant bars" operate in Hammond every Sunday.
The proposal found favor with about a dozen residents who chose to speak to the council on the issue. Cecilia Gianobile said residents of legal drinking age should have the opportunity to choose whether or not to visit a bar and consume alcoholic beverages on a Sunday. She said existing ordinances deny those individuals the right to make that choice.
Terry Lynn Smith, director of the Downtown Development District, said her organization endorsed the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays because it would add to commerce in the downtown area and would bring more visitors to the heart of the city where a number of bars are located.
After the meeting, Marshall said he is disappointed the council did not adopt the measure.
"To me, it was simple logic, and I regret that the council could not see the simplicity of what the ordinance would have done," he said.
Marshall encourages those who favor bars opening on Sundays to circulate a petition calling for measure to be put on a future ballot.
"I'm confident that if the issue is put to the voters, they will vote in favor of allowing bars to open on Sundays," he said.
