Legislator Pushes To Restrict Liquor Near Churches

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Do liquor stores and other places that hold liquor license need required separation from children? A state senator thinks so—and is pushing for changes.

Laura Wynn and her friends only have to walk across the street from the Traveler’s Rest Missionary Baptist Church and School on Cleveland Avenue to grab a snack at Ray’s Supermarket, which sells everything from popsicles to alcohol.

“When we come to the store, we have older people who are on drugs and alcohol and they sometimes stop us and ask us for change and stuff,“ Wynn said.

That’s where State Sen. Nina Turner comes in. She said the prevalence of liquor is leading to crime, which hurting communities and children.

“We are looking at a social powder keg here if we don’t begin to control and have real discussions about the over saturation of liquor licenses,“ Turner said.

Turner’s push is to only grant liquor licenses to businesses at least 500 feet away from schools, churches, libraries, playgrounds and parks.

An employee at Ray’s Supermarket and the owner of Buckeye Fuel, which is across the street from Linden Elementary School, both said they oppose the idea.

Scott Heimlich owns the upscale German Village restaurant Barcelona, which sits less than 500 feet from Schiller Park. He said that if the bill were to pass as written, his restaurant would likely close.

“It would be devastating. This is my livelihood and I’ve got 60 employees. This is their livelihood,“ Heimlich said.

Turner acknowledged to NBC 4 that her bill needs to be reworded so it doesn’t put restaurants or chain grocery stores that sell alcohol out of business.

There is also a question of whether existing businesses would be grandfathered in. As of Tuesday, Turner said she hadn’t decided yet.

“I don’t pretend to have introduced a perfect bill, but it is calling attention to a very real and serious issue that many communities face in urban areas,“ Turner said.

“I understand who they are focusing this on, but we need to be very careful how legislation is written so that it doesn’t adversely affect those that are working within the rules and regulations and are contributing to the community,“ Heimlich said.

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