Live in Texas? Don't get drunk in the bars!

Quote:

Thu Mar 23, 9:57 AM ET

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said on Wednesday.


The first sting operation was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb where agents infiltrated 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication, said the commission's Carolyn Beck.

Being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkeness, Beck said.

The goal, she said, was to detain drunks before they leave a bar and go do something dangerous like drive a car.

"We feel that the only way we're going to get at the drunk driving problem and the problem of people hurting each other while drunk is by crackdowns like this," she said.

"There are a lot of dangerous and stupid things people do when they're intoxicated, other than get behind the wheel of a car," Beck said. "People walk out into traffic and get run over, people jump off of balconies trying to reach a swimming pool and miss."

She said the sting operations would continue throughout the state.

source

Seriously, people can't even get drunk in a bar? What about the people that have designated drivers, do they get arrested too? Could there be a fine for this?

This just doesn't seem like a legit law to me.

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That's bullshit. I'm assuming they had the bar owners OK on it, or else wouldn't it be private property and not really public drunkeness? Either way, this is one of the stupidest and worst things I've heard in a while.

What's the point in going to a bar if you aren't going to drink unless you are a DD?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

No, it doesn't seem legit.
That is, if a bar is still public, where is the line between public and 'private' drawn? Is one only allowed to be out of public at one's place of residency?

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Wouldn't it also be at the fault of the bartender since he's the one getting them drunk (despite being paid for serving them alcohol)?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I don't really see the huge problem with this. It's not like they're arresting people for drinking, they're arresting people for getting drunk enough they'd be arrested if they were out in public doing the antics they could be up to in the bar.

I was speaking idiomatically.

According to you, Reaver, Texas is partaking in Thought Crime. Which is just great.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

How is being sloppily drunk a thought crime?

Edit: Question, do police need a warrant to go into a bar to arrest someone? That would seem to hint at an answer for the legality of arresting people for public drunkenness.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

I don't really see the huge problem with this. It's not like they're arresting people for drinking, they're arresting people for getting drunk enough they'd be arrested if they were out in public doing the antics they could be up to in the bar.

They're arresting people before a crime has been committed, and there is no conspiracy in crimes like these. None that could be taken seriously, anyway.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Don't a lot of people in Texas carry around guns?

Yeah.... guns and alcohol are a great combination. What could possible go wrong?! :doh:

Jam it back in, in the dark.

See the thing is, getting drunk in a bar is not the same as getting drunk in your house. If you get drunk inside are bar, you are eventually going to have to leave said bar and venture out into public, where it is illegal to be drunk.

If you are legally drunk when you are inside the bad, you will more than likely be drunk when you leave the bar. You are not going to sober up while inside the bar and you are not going to sleep in the bar. You are getting drunk knowing that when you leave the bar you will be commiting a crime.

It's like how it is illegal to sit in a running car while you are drunk or how it is also illegal to have open bottles of alcohol inside your car.

I do think this is taking it a little to the extreme, though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It was my impression that bars are pretty much the only LEGAL place you can go to in order to get plain-old shitfaced DRUNK, being private property and all.

I mean, if you can't get drunk at a bar, what the fuck is the point, right?

Being an idiot and drinking to the point of intoxication is not technically against the law. Unless an actual crime is committed (unruly behavior, assault of any kind), its really not illegal to be annoying unfortunately.

At this pace, they may as well just outlaw booze all together if you ask me. If they don't want people drunk (and thats the motivation behind arresting drunk people at a bar), maybe they should just recede into history with prohibition in Texas! I am sure the Texans will TOTALLY ABIDE!

I love this country. People will lay down and take anything. Sometimes I wonder if the people in power are playing a huge joke on the nation. "Lets see what kind of insane laws the people will take TODAY!"

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

But still, they are doing something that will inevitable cause them to break the law. If you get drunk at the bar, you will inevitably leave the bar still drunk, thus breaking the public drunkeness law. Any argument otherwise is pretty stupid.

It might be stupid, but they have a basis for doing it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by CloudNine

But still, they are doing something that will inevitable cause them to break the law. If you get drunk at the bar, you will inevitably leave the bar still drunk, thus breaking the public drunkeness law. Any argument otherwise is pretty stupid.

It might be stupid, but they have a basis for doing it.

I think that the cops need to be fighting real crime instead of nabbing people who have caused no violent crimes and have done nothing wrong except drink too much.

I was speaking idiomatically.

CloudNine, have you never heard of Designated Drivers?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Arainach

CloudNine, have you never heard of Designated Drivers?

I think he's saying that the moment they even WALK out of the bar, they're "publically intoxicated." No driving required. ^_^

FELIPE NO

I totally agree. But, there are alot of people driving drunk and when most people are pushing to stop this amount of drunk driving, sometimes things must be done preemptively in order to prevent these actions from taking place. It is like control the area where guns can be fired in order to prevent effects to noncomplicit people.

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Arainach

CloudNine, have you never heard of Designated Drivers?

Yes, but how can you prove that someone is going to be a designated driver? What would prevent someone from lying about having a designated driver or having someone nearby who is not legally drunk pretend to be their designated driver?

And yes, since everyone is using 'the bar is a private residence' defense, why isn't the street outside of the bar a public area? If they are drunk inside in a private residence, it is obvious that they will be drunk in a public place when they walk out the door.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by andkeener

Seriously, people can't even get drunk in a bar? What about the people that have designated drivers, do they get arrested too? Could there be a fine for this?

This just doesn't seem like a legit law to me.

It isn't at all legit. It's retarded.

A bar is a private establishment. Keep an eye on this story. The bar owners ought to really be kicking up a fuss over this.

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Originally Posted by Watts

Don't a lot of people in Texas carry around guns?

Yeah.... guns and alcohol are a great combination. What could possible go wrong?! :doh:

Yep, we sure do. I carry my six-shooter to school with me everyday.

But seriously, this law seems really stupid. Of course, if I was old enough to drink, and I wanted to get drunk, I'd probably do it at home. Even so, just because someone wants to do that at a bar (especially as long as they don't plan on driving), I don't see why they shouldn't be able to. They should at least wait until they do something bad in the bar before they arrest them.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The bar owners might have *agreed* to this, bear in mind. The folks they're arresting are, I'm sure, folks who are without a designated driver that plan to drive home. Sting operatives are probably folks who come off as drinkin' buddies and say "Oh hey how're you getting home?" "Ohh, I'm fine... I'll drive m'self".

Being drunk is one thing. But being drunk without the intent of getting a safe ride home is quite another. If you fall under that category, you immediately endanger yourself and everyone else out on the road.

Watts --
It is illegal to carry a firearm inside of a business that makes over half of its profits off of alcohol. Someone being drunk in a bar with a gun won't make a difference if they're in a state that condones carrying concealed or not. They're breaking the law either way.

Plus, we all know that large consumptions of alcohol does wonders for your coordination and steadiness-of-hand. Them damn Texan alcoholics are serial killaz.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Gechmir

The bar owners might have *agreed* to this, bear in mind.

Oh, then that's fine.

The way I saw it, it could be bad for business and can't be forced on them. It wasn't forced on them? That's fine.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

If a drunk goes out into public and causes trouble or gets into a wreck, they trail it back to the bar he was last at, and they'll get in trouble. It is a bar's responsibility to not let the customers get too-far-gone on drinking. This'll help them keep tabs on troublemakers who blend into the crowds. This is doing bars a favor.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Ok, I have a question for you guys.

Say a guy is drinking and gets really smashed at a bar and decides he wants to leave. He walks out and decides he is way too drunk to drive home, so he decides to lie down in his car wait to sober up. He gets cold while being in the car and decides to turn the car on to warm up, all the while with no intention of actually moving the car anywhere. While waiting, he falls asleep with the car still running. A little while later, a police officer knocks on his door, tests him and books him with a DUI.

Do you think that this is fair? The guy was not actually driving the car and says he had no plans to.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yes it's totally fair. DUI should be more accurately called "operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated".

Besides, he could have rolled over in his sleep and accidentally put the car in gear.

FELIPE NO

Ok, what if he was sleeping in the back seat?

What if that car was a van where the shift knob is unreachable from the back seat?

What if the car is off, the man is in the back seat drunk and the keys are in the glove box?

All of these are arrestable offenses punished by a DUI. I have heard no one complaining about these. This is just the next step. Stopping the massive amounts of drinking in situations where people can possibly make unrational decisions seems like a good idea to me.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Well, he doesn't even need to turn the car on. Turn the key slightly but not enough to turn on the car, and you'll turn on the AC, Heaters, radio, etc. But it won't start the engine.

Jam it back in, in the dark.