It really wasn't until this year's Super Bowl that I realized just how dumb our state's alcohol sale laws truly are.

Can you imagine the amount of money that's lost every week just because some Puritans from 200 years ago didn't like the fact that people could enjoy a beer or two on the Sabbath? Nobody wants to live in a theocracy, and the state's blue laws are both a clear violation of our civil liberties and a direct infraction of the whole "separation of church and state" guarantee. Am I happy that state legislators are finally giving this thing a vote in the State Capitol? Buddy, this thing should've happened about 150 years ago. The reality that we're looking at the issue, in 2011, isn't just ridiculous, it's downright embarrassing.

Georgia has the second dumbest blue laws in the nation, with only Indiana's laws proving more idiotic than ours. In the Hoosier State, you can't even buy a car on Sunday, because as it clearly says in Romans, "Thou shalt not purchase horseless carriages on the Sabbath, not even a used one." Even so, our laws are still irrational to the nth degree. Imagine, if you will, a state injunction that forbade the sale of beef products on Tuesdays. It's a downright illogical mandate, and one that seriously hurts the local economy. Now, our current alcohol sale laws are just as nonsensical as the hypothetical decree I just mentioned, but for some reason, nobody has bothered taking the issue to the streets. Forget tea parties, what this state really needs is a "beer party," a collection of pilsner enthusiasts that peacefully assemble to combat the state's idiotic commerce legislation.

Why can't we buy a six pack on Sunday? Heck, that's the day when beer is most likely to be consumed, since everybody needs something to relax with before hitting the grind on Monday morning. Every Sunday, you see all of Kennesaw's liquor stores, and all of their signs are unplugged. There are some gargantuan winery and spirits wholesalers in the area, and because some teetotalers during the Grant Administration got their petticoats in double-knots, those fine stewards of capitalism are forced to lose one seventh of their weekly earnings. The state's blue laws aren't only unreasonable, they're economically destructive. Ever waltzed through a Kroger or Wal-Mart on a Sunday? Every time I see that darkened row of ale, I weep a little on the inside. During football season, those things would be selling like hotcakes, especially if the Falcons take a nosedive next season. And if that NFL lockout really does come to fruition? Then we might see triple the sales. It's money being set ablaze, and an incredible waste of resources. Illogical doesn't begin to describe it.

Sunday alcohol sales would decrease the likelihood of drunk driving accidents. Why? Because restaurants are allowed to sell spirits on Sunday, which means that you have to consume whatever alcohol you purchase right there on the spot. If you could just amble into a grocery store and pick up a couple of brews, you could drive home and drink them, moderately, within the safety of your own den. However, since we can't do that, we're forced to chug our suds and take our chances on the roadways of Kennesaw each Sunday. Not only are the alcohol sale laws financially harmful, they're also a social hazard.

Under Georgia state law, we're not allowed to buy alcohol on Christmas, either. Now this is a blatant First Amendment violation if there ever was one. Doesn't anybody remember that thing about government not establishing or favoring any given religion? Something tells me that if we weren't allowed to purchase pork products on Ramadan, or baked goods on Yom Kippur, the citizens of Kennesaw would be outraged. However, we have a clear Constitutional violation going on in our own backyards, yet no one is calling "foul" here?