Long-term use can cause serious health

complications affecting virtually every organ in your

body, including your brain.
A product that comes with a warning as grave as that should
be handled with caution. The product in reference is alcohol. The
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board first adopted the basic body
of regulations over the issue of alcohol in Arkansas on August
27, 1952. Since that date, the Board has revised the regulations
numerous times, but the regulations have never been altogether
revoked. Not yet, anyway. However, a new alcohol-related
proposal will be on the ballots in November that could change the
course of Arkansas history.
From 1952 to present day, the law of the land for the state of
Arkansas has been that it is up to each individual county to
determine their wet/dry status. In a wet county, the retail sale and
manufacture of alcoholic beverages is legal. In dry counties, only
a private club permit may be issued. Most of the wet counties even
have dry areas within their borders, such as townships or cities.
(These counties are designated on the map by the county name
being underlined.) As it now stands, the state is nearly an even
split, with 37 dry and 38 wet counties.
The proposed Amendment, going by the popular name of The
Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment, would change the
Arkansas Constitution effective July 1, 2015 by making the
manufacture, sale, distribution and transportation of intoxicating
liquors lawful within the entire geographic area of each and every
county of this state.
Yes, you read that right - the sale of alcohol would be lawful
across the entire state. The Amendment makes it a point to
outlaw any kind of exceptions:
All laws which conflict with this amendment, including laws
providing for a local option election (wet/dry election) to determine
whether intoxicating liquors may be sold or not sold, are hereby
repealed to the extent that they conflict with this amendment.
If this Amendment is successful, then the entire state will be wet
and counties, wards, and precincts will no longer have a say in
whether they are wet or dry. In a state that is currently split 50/50
on the issue of allowing alcohol sales, a change such as this is
much too drastic. There is a reason 50% of the state doesnt want
alcohol to be so freely distributed, and that 50% needs to take a
stand in the November elections if they want to keep the status quo
of counties deciding their own fate on the issue.
Our neighbors in Independence County have been pushing back
against this legislation for some time now. K.I.D.S. is a group of
66 Your Hometown Magazine

concerned residents working to Keep Independence Dry & Safe.

Since the state petition will override the local option election, this
group is fighting to keep their county dry by seeking to help other
counties completely understand the issues. They are urging voters
to decline to sign the petition that would legalize alcohol sales
statewide.
There is one group in particular whose opinions and wellbeing get forgotten when the issue of opening the floodgates for
alcohol sales gets brought to the table. Who is that group you
may ask? Children. Today, 1 in 4 children live in a household with
an alcoholic adult. Whats more? Children whose parents abuse
alcohol and other drugs were 3x more likely to be abused, and over
4x more likely to be neglected than children from non-abusing
families.
One member of the K.I.D.S. movement summed up the issue
best: When do peaceful people give up their time, money,
even relationships, to fight an issue where they have absolutely
NOTHING to gain? When they have so VERY MUCH to lose.
Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself what youre willing to
do to keep our current alcohol laws in place.
To protect the innocence of our children and families as well as
our freedom for local option elections, vote against the upcoming
Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment.

What you might imagine...

According to the 2010 Census population figure, there could be as many as 15 liquor stores in White County. That is the
number allowed by the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division. 1 per 5,000 residents.

Since the state petition will override the local

option election, Keep Independence Dry & Safe is
fighting to keep their county dry by seeking to help
other counties completely understand the issues.

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