Overview
- The Maryland Consumer Freedom Coalition, backed by the Maryland Retailers Alliance, launched the push Thursday with an event outside a Giant Food in Baltimore.
- Organizers said they will run public education ads and take the case to community events while urging supporters to contact legislators before the next session.
- Del. Marlon Amprey and Sen. Antonio Hayes, who previously sponsored stalled bills, framed the change as modernizing policy and attracting full-service grocers to underserved areas.
- Opposition from the Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association and small retailers centers on fears of harm to independent liquor stores and local producers.
- Maryland remains one of four states that bar grocery beer and wine sales under a ban dating to 1978, even as proponents cite thin grocery profit margins and cross-border shopping.