Michigan Bans direct beer, wine, and liquor retail shipments

[fotoman311]

http://www.freep.com/article/20081219/NEWS...90410/1008/NEWS

LANSING -- Direct shipment of wine to Michigan consumers, except

under tightly controlled conditions, will be shut down under

legislation that was headed toward final approval in the state

Legislature on Thursday night.

The legislation -- prompted by a federal court decision striking

down a state law that prohibited out-of-state retailers from shipping

wine to consumers, while permitting in-state retailers to do so -- won

easy approval in the state Senate and faces little opposition in the

House.

[GRguy]

Sounds like there is some Blagojevichin' going on.

[suydam]

Sounds like there is some Blagojevichin' going on.

[John E]

It's all about control. Welcome to the Police State. The United States is no longer free.

~John

[GR Jackson]

Maybe its time to make your own wine. You can avoid dealing with anyone then.

[jas49503]

It's all about control. Welcome to the Police State. The United States is no longer free.

~John

[GRDadof3]

I don't get this legislation, and that article makes it more confusing. Is it now prohibited to buy beer and wine online and have it shipped to you?

[einsteinrig]

It's all about control. Welcome to the Police State. The United States is no longer free.

~John

[fotoman311]

I don't get this legislation, and that article makes it more confusing. Is it now prohibited to buy beer and wine online and have it shipped to you?

[Kib]

Also worth noting, the Wholesalers and Distributors got another gift from Lansing forcing taxpayers to foot the bill as well as putting an extra burden on retailers accepting bottle returns, so Kramer & Newman don't rip them off...

Bottle return scam

These guys must really be pulling some juice (or rather contributing some lettuce )

[grandrollerz]

Simple solution: A national bottle deposit program, 10 cents all around.

Unfortunately, if they are having these types of problems, it's unlikely the bill will be expanded (*I* wish it would be).

MUCC push to expand bottle bill.

Some info on programs here.

[wingbert]

That is my understanding of what this legislation does. A year or two ago a federal court said that Michigan couldn't allow in-state retailers to ship wines to Michigan consumers, but ban out of state retailers from doing so. So, this is the wonderful response we get. Now it's ALL banned. I mean, this is not as backwards as Pennsylvania's laws ( http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf..._sales_irk.html ) or many of the other crazy laws around the country ( beer in Mississippi can't be over 6% ABW, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22958512/ ), but it's a step in the wrong direction.

I think the biggest reason for this is to protect tax revenues.