LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky can continue to operate under a 1938 law that forbids the sale of wine and distilled spirits at stores that get 10% of their sales from gasoline or groceries, USA Today reports. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state has the legal right to limit sales of alcohol.

The ruling by the three-judge panel reverses a federal judge’s 2012 decision that letting drug stores sell liquor but prohibiting supermarkets and convenience stores from doing so violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The appellate court decision stated that since Kentucky had restrictions on alcohol sales through the number of licensed retailers, then “the state can also reduce access by limiting the types of places that supply it — just as a parent can reduce a child's access to liquor by keeping smaller amounts in the house and by locking it in the liquor cabinet.”

The Food with Wine Coalition and Maxwell’s Pic-Pac sued the state over the law. Stephen Pitt, attorney for the Food with Wine Coalition, said next steps would be decided after the decision has been reviewed. “[We’re dissatisfied that the court didn’t] consider the fact that in today’s business environment, there is very little difference between so-called grocery stores, which are not able to sell wine, and so-called drug stores, which are,” he said.

“Today’s ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals confirms the validity of Kentucky’s existing statutes and regulations regarding the sale of wine and spirits, and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's application of those rules,” responded the state ABC in a prepared statement.

Currently, supermarkets can sell wine and liquor in 36 states.