Photo by a nameless yeast.

Maryland’s liquor laws are fairly draconian — so much so, that in this 2009 post about a potential reform which would allow people to ship wine into the Old Line State, I dubbed the state’s booze rules as “featuring a rigidity rivaled only by…the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” But it looks like one of the state’s largest and most influential counties might be loosening up a bit. The Examiner reports that residents of Montgomery County will now be able to shop at county-operated liquor stores on Sundays, thanks to an executive order signed by County Executive Ike Leggett.

County officials who have seen Leggett’s plan say it will be introduced as a six-month trial. The arrangement would allow the county to capitalize on higher-than-normal liquor sales around the holidays and ensure the setup produces a profit.

“I’m glad we’re doing this,” said Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large. We should have done it a long time ago. What’s the downside?”

Well, there isn’t one for most of the County’s residents, though we’d imagine that Elrich could be hearing from the waning forces who maintain a belief in the sanctity of the “blue law.” (Though he probably won’t.) Montgomery County, which has been considering allowing Sunday sales since a long-overdue motion suggesting it was introduced in April, had been just as tightly wound as the rest of the state when it comes to alcohol — previously, the state’s “blue laws” prevented people from buying a bottle of whiskey on Sundays, even though any MoCo resident could just take a stroll down to their local bar and drink all day, if they so chose.

So, to recap: an antiquated law which inconvenienced people and potentially hampered the state from collecting additional revenues has been overturned, even if it is on a trial basis for the moment. Chalk one up for common sense!