But it isn't really a "ban" if there are Sunday alternatives (hint: Indiana breweries and wineries).

The effort is underway again this year.

Bill to lift Sunday alcohol sales ban has fewer store rules (Associated Press)

A new proposal to lift Indiana's eight decades-old ban on Sunday carryout alcohol sales would impose fewer new restrictions on grocery stores and pharmacies than a bill that failed in the Legislature last year.

The measure represents a fresh attempt by Indiana House Public Policy Chairman Tom Dermody to end the state's status as having the last such statewide "blue law" in the U.S.

Rep. Dermody, who seems to be bidding for recognition as the Great Alcohol Emancipator (well, it works for me), also has proposed a measure to reverse one of MADD's greatest legislative wins.

Will the institution of Happy Hour return to Hoosier shores?

I was in my early twenties when Indiana banned the promotional practice of happy hours (alcoholic beverage discounts predicated on time of day) and also favoritism in pricing (i.e., ladies night).

Back to Sundays, and a convenient summary of how Hoosiers work around the Sunday ban.

8 ways to get alcohol on Sundays, by Amy Haneline (IndyStar)

A legislative effort in 2015 brought the state closer than it has ever been to lifting the Prohibition-era ban on Sunday alcohol sales for carryout. But sure enough, the liquor stores and big-box couldn't come to a compromise. Luckily, there are plenty of workarounds to getting an adult beverage on Sundays.

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Unhappy and happy hours, in Indiana and elsewhere.

I was in my early twenties when Indiana banned happy hours (discounts predicated on time of day) and favoritism in pricing (i.e., ladies night). Since then, it's been Happy Day or Bust in the Hoosier state. If someone is advertising dollar longnecks during the UFC bout, the same price must be charged two hours before.

When the law first took effect, I immediately lost interest in Indiana University basketball, because the Tumbleweed in New Albany had a game night promotion involving "dee-fense, dee-fense": If IU held the opposition to less than 60 points, there was an hour of 2-for-1 well drinks following the final whistle.

This was the era when Mothers Against Drunk Drivers actually had a strong case to make. In later years, MADD became a prohibitionist parody, but then ... yes. In an auto-centric milieu like ours in Southern Indiana, it's simply insane to stage specials like these.

In hindsight, it's regrettable that food-based happy hours never caught on. We used to go to the long defunct Chi Chi's in Clarksville for happy hour margaritas, and when the law changed, the restaurant had a cheap food buffet instead. The cost to the consumer worked out about the same, but evidently there was no traction.

Mapping the United States of Happy Hours, by Aarian Marshall (City Lab)

Some cities are straight-up bacchanalian. Others, not so much.

Imagine this: You trudge off the plane at O’Hare, cranky and disheveled—but luckily, it’s beer time.

Not so fast: Five o’clock brings no discount drinks in the Chicago. In fact, happy hours—time-specific discounts on alcohol—are forbidden in the entire state of Illinois. That is, unless the governor finally signs into law the bill passed earlier this month that would allow bars and restaurants to set reduced drink prices for a portion of the day.

 ... Why are the laws so different in different cities? Many bans were implemented in the 1980s when citizen groups led by Mothers Against Drunk Driving presented state legislatures with some scary statistics.