Many of those, by the way, were a hoot. Opponents of privatization argued that national big-box retailing chains would gobble up all the liquor licenses, leaving none for anyone else — and that seedy, low-rent liquor stores would sprout on every corner like weeds after a spring rain. They fretted that taxes on consumption could never hope to make up for lost ABC profits — and that liquor consumption would skyrocket. They argued that liquor was vile, nasty stuff — and therefore Virginia ought to be the one to sell it, which makes as much sense as state-run sales of cigarettes or porn.

On top of those contradictions, opponents marched out a parade of horribles with no basis in fact. Privatization would lead to more teenage drinking, they said. And to more binge drinking, and more highway carnage. But Virginia is one of only 18 states that monopolize the sale of liquor. And as the Virginia Interfaith Center, which opposed privatization, acknowledged: “although alcohol consumption is slightly higher in private sale states, there is no difference in the rates of underage drinking, underage binge drinking, and alcohol-related traffic deaths between license states and control states.”