The law banning the sale of cold beer in Indiana grocery and convenience stores will not be overturned.
A recent appeal from the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (CSA) has been rejected by the Seventh Circuit.
According to a report from Courthouse News Service, the Petroleum Marketers and the CSA appealed to the Seventh Circuit in an attempt to have the Indiana ban on cold beer sales at convenience stores and fuel retailers overturned, but they were unsuccessful.
The law in question was put in place in an attempt to curb underage drinking. Cold beer is only to be sold at liquor stores, which require employees to be 21 years old, and are more highly regulated than grocery and convenience stores.
The retailers that have voiced their concerns are those operating with a “beer dealer’s” permit, meaning that beer can be sold to be consumed off the premises. These retailers are claiming that the law practices unfair treatment of a single product, and further claimed that it violated their right for equal protection. Further, the retailers claimed that the effected venues have history of complying with alcohol laws, but their defense was to no avail.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the ruling from the Indianapolis Federal Court, stating that, because the law’s purpose is to stop the underage purchase of alcohol, it does not violate equal protection.
