CHARLESTON - Independence Day takes on a new meaning today, the first July 4 in years that liquor stores will have the freedom to stay open.

For decades, governors have made the holiday a dry day by forcing 4,000 liquor stores around the state to shut down.

State law gives governors power "in the interest of law and order or public morals and decorum" to close liquor stores. They routinely use it on Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's and July 4.

But Gov. Mark Sanford wanted to lift "government interference on a nonreligious holiday," Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.

In a survey Thursday of Rock Hill-area liquor stores, the following businesses said they planned to be open today:

• Anderson's Liquor Store, 454 S.Wilson St.

• Brand Spirits, 1325 Cherry Road.

• Miller's ABC Store, 1596 Neely Road.

• Nuckleheads, 2587 Cherry Road.