(Wines&Vines) - Earlier this month Kentucky’s 1938 statute prohibiting the issuance of a license to sell wine and distilled spirits in grocery stores or gas stations was found to be in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling was handed down by John G. Heyburn II, chief district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in Louisville. The basis for the ruling is that grocery and convenience store operators may not obtain a license to sell wine and spirits, although drug stores and other retail establishments are allowed to apply for and get them.