ROCKPORT, Mass. (AP) - Residents of this tourist village where alcohol has been banned for nearly 150 years have asked the Legislature to take the first step toward allowing some sales of booze.

Except for a brief period after Prohibition, Rockport has been dry since 1856, when 200 hatchet-wielding women swept through town and destroyed anything containing liquor.

At a town meeting Monday, nearly 1,000 people voted by a 3-to-1 margin to begin allowing the sale of alcohol at restaurants. Liquor stores and bars would still be banned.

The vote asks the state Legislature to approve a home rule petition that would place the issue before town voters in April.

Rockport resident Fred C. Tarr argued that allowing restaurants to serve alcohol would hurt its unique appeal to tourists.

"Frankly, I don't know that booze will bring happiness to Rockport," he said.

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