"Happy Hour" Could Return to Plymouth [POLL]

State Senator Robert Hedlund sponsored a casino bill amendment Tuesday that stated that if the proposed Massachusetts casinos can offer free drinks, restaurants should also be allowed to offer free drinks too.

The casino bill was passed by the Senate last week and goes to a committee to iron out the differences between the Senate and the House versions. One of those differences is the so-called "Happy Hour" amendment.

According to the Boston Herald, Sen. Robert  Hedlund, R-Weymouth, believes the state should allow for existing businesses compete on a level playing field with the casinos that are coming in.

From the New England Post:

As a part of the Massachusetts Senate’s proposed casino plan, in-state casinos would be issued “gaming beverage licenses.” Unlike the traditional alcoholic beverage licenses that Bay State bar and restaurant owners are used to, these new licenses could allow casinos to give free drinks to customers as part of promotions, to provide drink specials that vary by night and to allow for other drink deals that are currently banned under state law.

The bill amendment, which was approved by the Senate Tuesday on a 25-13 vote, has critics of that amendment fearing that it may lead to an increase in drunk driving and related accidents.

The vote has also sparked discussion around the state that “happy hour” could soon be reinstated in Massachusetts bars and restaurants for the first time since it was banned in 1984.

One of those critics is state Rep. Tom Calter, D-Kingston, who expressed his indignation on his Facebook page last Friday:

I'm extremely disappointed in the amendment to the casino bill that Sen. Hedlund made last night which would legalize Happy Hours. You don't need data to understand the common sense connection between Happy Hours and drunk driving. We've made great progress since Melanie's Law was passed, and while there is still more work to be done to curb drunk driving, this would clearly be taking steps backward. This issue isn't over.

A Pembroke family was part of the driving force that ended Happy Hour in Massachusetts in 1984. WBZ Channel 4 interviewed one of the girls, now a grown woman with a family of her own, who was seriously injured in a 1982 drunken driving accident.

For Erin Brenton, this fight is about safety and family.

In 1982, she and her sister Heather were walking down Birch Street in Pembroke when they were run down by a drunk driver. Erin, who was 9, suffered head and leg injuries; Heather, who was 6, was killed.

“My sister was killed by a 17-year-old who was drunk from the night before. He was so drunk the following day that he hit us from behind. We were two little girls walking down the street delivering Camp Fire items. I will never allow her to be forgotten,” said Brenton.

Do you think "happy hour" should be allowed at Plymouth businesses? Let us know. Take our poll or leave a comment below.