Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine slammed the doors of liquor stores in six counties close to Pennsylvania to out-of-state residents.
The action was in response to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s order closing the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board‘s Fine Wine & Spirits stores. The order was intended to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
The governor noted that multiple border counties in West Virginia have relatively recently prohibited sales of liquor to persons who do not have West Virginia identification. This has pushed people into Ohio’s border counties to purchase liquor and creates an unacceptable public health issue.
The flood of Pennsylvania customers has been “mind-boggling,” Linda Johnson, manager of a liquor store in Hubbard, just five miles from the border. “Ninety-five percent of our customers are from Pennsylvania.” While the governor said the order was intended to protect public health, “it’s not good,” Johnson said.
Pennsylvania’s response was to assert that it’s illegal to bring alcohol into Pennsylvania “unless it is purchased at a licensed out-of-state winery or licensed out-of-state distillery or through a direct wine shipper or a direct malt or brewed beverage licensee.”