Taking their eye off "The Gay Marriage Ball" for a moment, the fundies want to protest against "boutique beer."
We need to feed these people more pointless distractions to keep them occupied and away from things that matter more than this.
----
From: knowhim@earthlink.net
Subject: {Calnc} Urgent Action Alert
April 30, 2005 Hosted, Designed & Maintained
by Ark Webs
URGENT ACTION ALERT House ABC Committee Approves
the Sale of Beer with up to 15%
Alcohol Content - Measure Moves To House Floor
Vote to take place on May 3rd or 4th. Call your Representative in the
N.C. House today!
Wednesday, the House ABC Committee took up House Bill 392 - Amend Definition of Malt Beverage in ABC Law. The legislation raises the cap on alcohol content in beer from 6% to 15%. Unfortunately, the bill passed with a slight amendment by a 5-3 margin.
Rep. Stephen Laroque introduced the measure to the Committee by arguing that the 6% cap was an archaic law from the prohibition era that needed to be repealed. He said the law was established 75 years ago when Mill owners in North Carolina were concerned workers would fail to report to work on Mondays, if they drank beers of higher alcohol content.
LaRoque's portrayal of the history of North Carolina's current cap of 6% on alcohol content in beer, however, failed to recognize that loss of worker productivity due to alcohol related causes is not simply a relic of the past. In fact, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking currently affects productivity in the workplace to a loss of over $97.7 billion annually.
Rev. Mark Creech, Executive Director of the Christian Action League, was the only person to speak out against the legislation at the committee meeting. Creech contended the measure would open the door for some spirituous liquor products, which are currently only allowed to be sold in ABC stores, to eventually be sold in retail establishments. If wine with an abv level of 16% and beer with an abv level of 15% is allowed on the grocery store shelves, then it won't be long before the producers of low proof liquors with comparable abv levels will want access to the same open market, he said. Creech added that two other control states like North Carolina, Idaho and Ohio, for similar reasons are now selling low proof liquor products outside their control stores.
Creech also told the Committee the legislation would open the door to potent malt liquor products that are currently illegal in North Carolina. He said these products are highly associated with city blight. They are problematic in that they are marketed to Hispanics and blacks and are largely the drink of the homeless and unemployed, he said. Creech also argued, "This is to say nothing about ramped up versions of flavored malt beverages, which are clearly marketed to young drinkers and college kids that could become
available. Nor to point out that contrary to some of the information we have heard, there is compelling evidence, that despite price or taste, craft and specialty beers provide a romantic attraction for underage drinkers and college students because they like the quick buzz and fast high it creates."
Sadly, none of these arguments resonated with members of the House ABC Committee. One other argument Creech made that did resonate, however, had to do with the labeling of alcohol content in beer. He said that under federal law, alcohol content is a labeling requirement for wine. But federal mandatory labeling requirements for malt beverages requires alcohol content to be included on the label, only when required by state law. Currently, North Carolina has no such requirement. So if the alcohol content in beer is allowed to increase, the consumer has no way of knowing how much alcohol he/she is drinking. "This is considerably dangerous when considering these new products contain twice or nearly three times the alcohol consumers in this state are used to drinking, with no disclosure required," said Creech.
Following Creech's testimony, Rep. Edgar Starnes sent forth an amendment that requires all beer of more than 6% alcohol content be labeled in the Tar Heel state. The amendment passed unanimously. "Although the Starnes amendment made the legislation better, the bill still has far too many problems," said Rev. Creech.
The bill now goes to the House Floor for a full vote, where it will likely be voted on either May 3rd or 4th.
Take Action: Call Your Representative in the North Carolina House and urge him/her to resist any effort to remove the cap of 6% on beer. Removing the cap will likely open a Pandora's box of problems that exacerbate alcohol-related problems and undermine alcohol control in North Carolina.
For Talking Points Click here...
http://christianactionleague.net/articles/housebill392.html Do you know who represents you in the North Carolina House?
To find out who represents you in the North Carolina House, take the following steps:
a.. Click on
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/homePage.pl and then click on "Representation" in the left margin of the General Assembly's homepage.
b.. Under "North Carolina Representation" click on "Representation," which is the first category on the page.
c.. Once you reach the "Representation" page, just follow the prompts for determining who your Representative is either by voter registration, district, county, or zip code. (Finding your Representative by the county or zip code way seems to be the easiest.)
a.. Once you find your Representative, just click on his/her name and all the contact information will come up.
This process is very easy and not cumbersome. You need not be intimidated!!!
Another simple way to find who represents you in the North Carolina House is simply to call your local Board of Elections. They will be glad to give you that information over the phone.
In order to share this information with others that attend your church, find the Representative in the N.C. House that represents the area your church is located and take the contact information for that Representative to church on Sunday to distribute. Again, urge others to make calls too!!!
It is best to make phone calls rather than emails,
emails are often overlooked!
If you already know who your Representative is in the North Carolina House, you can just call 919.733.4111 and ask the Switchboard operator to patch you through to his/her office.
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