***NEWS RELEASE***
Tennessee Pastors Network Calls on Legislators to Reject Sunday Sales of Alcohol
TNPN President Dale Walker: Pastors Deal with the Curse of Alcohol ‘After the Bottle is Empty’
SPARTA, Tenn.—Pastor Dale Walker, president of the Tennessee Pastors Network (www.tnpastors.net), is calling on Tennessee legislators to reject a bill moving through the legislature that would allow for sales of wine and liquor on Sundays in Tennessee.
State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, is the Senate sponsor of SB0923 while Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, is carrying the bill in the House (HB0758).
“We have more than enough problems with alcohol abuse in Tennessee without making it even more easily and readily accessible, especially on the Lord’s Day,” Walker pointed out. “We are praying that the legislators will focus on the dangers of fueling even more addiction and harm to Tennessee families from these products rather than bowing to the demands of the liquor lobbyists and their large campaign donations.
“Alcohol continues to devastate more and more lives, and our politicians are to blame when they allow an increasing number of venues for alcohol to be sold,” Walker continued. “Now they not only want more venues, they want to add an additional day for the sale of these products. Do legislators really believe the problems and challenges we face in Tennessee will be solved by more of our neighbors and family members consuming more alcohol?”
Walker added that President Donald Trump “sets a tremendous example to young and old alike by his stand of refusing to drink alcohol,” further noting that the World Health Organization estimates that alcohol is responsible for taking a life every 10 seconds.
At least one state legislator is in line with the actions of the Tennessee Pastors Network. “We continue to see the epidemic of drunk driving and lots of other things, and societal ails that come from the use and abuse specifically of alcohol,” Rep. Andy Holt, R-District 76, told LocalMemphis.com.
Added Walker, “I pray that Tennessee wakes up and defeats this liquor industry push for more alcohol sales. Sunday sales of liquor and other alcoholic beverages will not make Tennessee a better place to live and raise our families—it will simply pour more profits into the liquor industry.”
In addition to Tennessee, 10 other states continue to ban Sunday liquor sales: Alabama, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
TNPN is a state chapter of the American Pastors Network (APN, www.americanpastorsnetwork.net), the largest national network dedicated to equipping pastors to be a voice for truth in the public square.
TNPN and APN offer pastors numerous online resources that help clergy choose sermon topics and find information for other church ministries. With some free and some paid resources, topics include abortion, apologetics, creation, the culture crisis, economics, education, the environment, history, homosexuality, Islam and marriage, along with many others.
The Tennessee Pastors Network encourages pastors to bring together biblical and constitutional principles in their sermons and provides resources to pastors throughout the state. For more information on TNPN, visit its website at www.tnpastors.net, its Facebook page or call (931) 267-0816.
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