GordonUnleashed

Athens prohibitionists rally

July 24th, 2007 by Steve

Apparently Dan thinks the word prohibition is a bit strong, but he used it and I will, too - as it is the proper term to describe some very small-minded people in Athens:

“We had a nice, clean community here that was respectable, and I just don’t believe in selling this stuff,” Bullington, 77, said shortly before Sunday’s “Rally Against Alcohol” at the Athens Bible School auditorium. “Our streets were quiet. Our lives were quiet, and this is plainly wrong to me. That’s why I’m here.”

Bullington was joined by more than 100 people who came out to support the repeal of the law that legalized the sale of alcoholic beverages here Jan. 1, 2004.

The Rev. Eddie Gooch, organizer of the effort and the rally, said the effort has grown from a group of about 10 people who formed the Limestone Quality of Life organization in May to more than 100. The group has collected 1,320 signatures on a petition to put a proposed ban on alcohol sales on a special election ballot, said Gooch, pastor of Isom’s Chapel United Methodist Church.

The city of Athens has about 12,000 registered voters, Gooch said, and, in 2003, the vote was 3,727 to 3,496 to approve sales - a difference of 231 votes.

“This effort is not about one group or faith,” Gooch said. “It’s not political nor is it economic. It is a moral effort. We don’t believe in alcohol sales.”

Gooch realizes, he said, “that people will go to other places and consume alcohol, but I don’t think the people of Athens should make it easy on them.”

I’m still in Atlanta, after meeting with former Congressman Bob Barr yesterday.  During the meeting, my colleague Mark said something in our unrelated-to-the-Athens-issue meeting which certainly applies to the situation in Athens, though: “The same government that can take away my scotch can also take away your Bible.”

According to Gooch, this is a “moral effort.”  According to the Bible United Methodists use, God doesn’t seem to think that alcohol should be prohibited by the force of government, unless somehow I missed that chapter of the book.  I was more interested in the turning water into wine portion, anyway.

It seems that Gooch must outrank God, if he’s going to call for more draconian measures than the man upstairs does.

Posted in It's a Southern Thang, Alabama Politics

2 Responses to “Athens prohibitionists rally”

1. Dan wrote on 07/24/07 at 6:47 pm :

   These guys are whack.

2. GordonUnleashed » Blog Archive » Neoprohibitionists turn nearby town into a national joke wrote on 08/14/07 at 2:31 pm :

   […] the moral do-gooders in Athens who are trying to reverse the recent removal of a ban on alcoholic beverages in their city? […]

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