INDIANAPOLIS -- The debate over Sunday alcohol sales got underway Tuesday at the Statehouse, with each side claiming to argue in the best interest of Hoosiers.

The retailers who want the right to sell on Sunday said they're doing it for people's convenience, while the package stores that want to prevent Sunday sales said they're doing it to help curb drunk driving and underage drinking, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

Currently, Hoosiers can only buy alcohol on Sundays by the drink at restaurants and bars, forcing grocery and convenience stores to close off their alcohol sections and liquor stores to shut down completely.

Some retailers testified Tuesday that consumers should have the right to decide for themselves if or when to buy alcohol.

"This debate is about free choice. It's very fundamental, and it's very simple," said John Elliot with Kroger. "It's giving our customers, and your voters, freedom to choose what they want to buy and where they want to buy it."

Grocers said customers who have made Sunday the second-biggest shopping day of the week are unhappy they can't buy beer or wine to go with the dinners they're preparing.

"It's become part of our culture, and not being able to shop for a product that they use on Sunday … it's something that my customers complain about constantly," said Zionsville grocer Douglas Pendleton.

But some liquor store owners argue that staying open an extra day will cost them money than the extra business is worth.

"For us, this is about survival in the face of unfair and relentless competition from big-box stores like Walmart, that seek to use their size, their buying power and their marketing to destroy our industry for their own financial gain," said John Livengood, a liquor stores lobbyist.

They also claim they are the main bulwark against drunk driving and sales to minors.

"It is important to keep alcohol a regulated and controlled product. Maintaining a strong package store industry is a critical element in those regulations," said liquor store owner Warren Scheidt.

The committee will report its findings to fellow lawmakers in January, when the General Assembly reconvenes.