The drunk police in Texas

[ismnotwasm]

Very stange article sent to me by a friend:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060322/us_nm/bars_dc;_ylt=AubtG.VW2qHU3ryKuVme09kXIr0F;_ylu=X3oDMTBidHQxYjh2BHNlYwN5bnN0b3J5

I'm assuming it's for real. I'm also kind of speechless. I never thought "public drunkeness" applied to bars.

I always thought of bars as a kind of corral;)

[hexola]

1. Another salvo in the culture war...

If they start this shit in regional live music clubs - they will have serious problem on their hands...

Dont piss Rock and Roll off!!!

[TomInTib]

2. The law was a trade-off back in the 60s when Texas ...

allowed liquor by the drink.

Prior to that time, you could take a bottle into a bar and order "set-ups". Members only.

The drunk in a bar law was a bone thrown to the religious temperance folks.

Under the current law, I was once arrested for buying someone a drink and I wasn't even drinking.

[ismnotwasm]

5. San Antonio is a pretty big city isn't it?

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around police going into a bar--where people go to drink, and pick out the "drunk" ones. What do they do-- give a breathalizer? A committed drinker or an alcoholic can function at .20 (not well, but they won't appear as drunk as the number indicates, and they still shouldn't drive!) Someone who doesn't drink often, or a small women, might get silly after a beer or so. Are they going to be hauled off to jail? I can't even see how it can be implimented.

[TomInTib]

9. No breathalizer needed. "Visual evidence" will hold up when

TABC is involved. Most of the "agents" are cretins who cannot qualify for ANY Law Enforcement agencies and join TABC so they can carry guns, wear badges and "bust heads".

And they haul you directly to jail.

I could go on, but I would just get pissed off.

[Gold Metal Flake]

7. I recall bringing a bottle & getting set-ups at a place near Kerrville...

...in the early 80s. I suppose it depends on the county. This sort of stuff is not gonna sit well with a lot of people. Now, take this and paste it to snooping in the bedroom, illegal surveillance and some sort of "special rights for the rich" talk and hurl it at the repukes. It'll stick.

[muchacho]

3. that's about 6 kinds if stupid...

[Ilsa]

4. I wonder if the Baptist are going to vote back Temperance laws?

Of course, some right-winger with money and protection from prosecution would create a black market and screw the working man and woman.

[Ilsa]

6. God, now SA? This morning we had Articles for Irving and Dallas.

Here is a link:
http://www.nbc5i.com/newsarchive/8169246/detail.html


Bar Sweep Sparks Controversy
Comedian Weighs In On Public Intoxication Arrests


The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission sent a message to bar patrons last week.

TABC agents and Irving police swept through 36 Irving bars and arrested about 30 people on charges of public intoxication. Agency representatives say the move came as a proactive measure to curtail drunken driving.

North Texans interviewed by NBC 5, however, worried that the sweep went too far.

At one location, for example, agents and police arrested patrons of a hotel bar. Some of the suspects said they were registered at the hotel and had no intention of driving. Arresting authorities said the patrons were a danger to themselves and others.

snip

[RoyGBiv]

8. This is not new ...

Many states and local municipalities have laws on the books that allow this sort of thing. They commonly don't enforce it a) because it's one of those things that takes massive resources to enforce regularly and b) it hurts business, especially in touristy areas and other places that draw large crowds that include people who go to bars and clubs while they're there. On OU-TX weekend, Dallas police, for example, don't even actively enforce laws dealing with public intoxication unless the person is driving, causing a disturbance, or doing something that pisses off a cop. Small towns, on the other hand, use laws like this a lot.

Anyway, being drunk in public is usually defined as being drunk in any place that is openly accessible to the public, i.e. anywhere except a private home or private club. The idea that you break the public intoxication law the moment you step out of the bar is a common drinker's myth. Another popular drinker's myth is that cops won't notice you're drunk if they can't smell alcohol, so you drink vodka, which is wrong on two counts. Behavior is the most common indicator of drunkenness, and people drunk on vodka definitely have an odor.

[SPKrazy]

10. They are Looking For People Who Are Shitfaced

and it is against the law to be shitfaced in public

who knows where it will be against the law next to be shitfaced?

[dflprincess]

11. There's a Barbara and Jenna joke here somewhere,

I just can't think of a really good line right now.