Texas arresting people for being drunk...

[Mplssoxfan]

I don't know all the details of these stings, obviously. I went to the TABC website and couldn't find a solid definition of what constitutes being drunk in public. I did see where licencees can be cited for serving someone who is "clearly a danger to themselves or others", which is standard boilerplate.

 

However, as I said before, if the standard for public drunkeness is the same as the standard for DUI, then people just won't drink in bars anymore. I've been working in restaurants a long time, and I certainly can't tell when someone has reached .08. To enforce .08 as a standard for drunkeness in a hotel bar is sheer madness.

 

People should never drink and drive, period. But should people never have more than three drinks? The answer, in Texas at least, appears to be yes.

[Texsox]

Pizza Hut sells alcohol?

 

Maybe not, I was just trying to think of a place that was nationwide. The principle is the same, just because a place serves alcohol, should everyone have a right to be drunk? Just asking. I get uneasy when we tell the police to not enforce a law. I'd rather get rid of the law.

[NorthSideSox72]

Maybe not, I was just trying to think of a place that was nationwide. The principle is the same, just because a place serves alcohol, should everyone have a right to be drunk? Just asking. I get uneasy when we tell the police to not enforce a law. I'd rather get rid of the law.

Police fail to enforce laws all the time - they have to makechoices, unless you want a cop on every corner. And I am more suggesting that the laws are enforced differentyl.

[Iwritecode]

Pizza Hut sells alcohol?

 

I'm pretty sure they sell beer. I know Chucky Cheese does.

 

I even found a fast-food restaurant here in Rockford that sells beer.

Edited March 29, 2006 by Iwritecode

[WCSox]

I know Chucky Cheese does.

 

 

I'm pretty sure that Pizza Hut sold beer in the past, but I'm not sure about now.

[Steff]

 

I'm pretty sure that Pizza Hut sold beer in the past, but I'm not sure about now.

 

 

 

I don't even know where there is a Pizza Hut..

[WCSox]

I don't even know where there is a Pizza Hut.. 

 

That's not surprising, considering that you probably have a Giordano's, Lou Malnati's, and/or Aurelio's nearby.

 

Lucky bastards...

[Texsox]

BTW, the Pizza Huts here do sell beer. I guess it's the only way to eat their pizza

 

Update:

 

AN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A controversial Texas program to send undercover agents into bars to arrest drunks has been halted after a firestorm of protest from the public.

 

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has "temporarily suspended" what it called "Operation Last Call" even though it still believes it was worthwhile, commission spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said on Thursday.

 

"We understand that everything has room for improvement, this included," she said.

 

She said most of those arrested in the sting operations had been "dangerously drunk" and might have tried to drive if TABC agents had not busted them.

 

The TABC has launched an internal investigation of Operation Last Call and a Texas Legislature committee will hold hearings on the program on Monday.

 

The TABC announced the program in late August but it received little attention at the time.

 

But recent media reports that drunks were being arrested in bars provoked both ridicule and anger around the world and, perhaps more importantly, complaints from hotels, restaurants and bars in Texas who said it could hurt business.

 

The program drew support from groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

 

The Houston Chronicle found that 1,740 people across the state had been arrested for public intoxication in Operation Last Call.

[NorthSideSox72]

She said most of those arrested in the sting operations had been "dangerously drunk" and might have tried to drive if TABC agents had not busted them.

 

I have no tolerance for drunk drivers - its an incredibly selfish and idiotic act. But that phrase there in bold bothers the heck out of me. Its too derivative. DUI is a derivative law anyway, assuming that harm could be done. This is now a derivative of a derivative. Its not acceptable to me.

 

You want to stop DUIs, patrol the parking lots and the streets instead of the bars. Stop the drivers as they get into the cars, and send them back into the bar to call a cab.

[Texsox]

I have no tolerance for drunk drivers - its an incredibly selfish and idiotic act.  But that phrase there in bold bothers the heck out of me.  Its too derivative.  DUI is a derivative law anyway, assuming that harm could be done.  This is now a derivative of a derivative.  Its not acceptable to me.

 

You want to stop DUIs, patrol the parking lots and the streets instead of the bars.  Stop the drivers as they get into the cars, and send them back into the bar to call a cab.

 

And change the laws to allow people to be falling down drunk in bars. If there is a law that should not be enforced, get rid of it, don't tell police not to enforce it.

[Mplssoxfan]

And change the laws to allow people to be falling down drunk in bars. If there is a law that should not be enforced, get rid of it, don't tell police not to enforce it.

If people are "falling down drunk", and there is a law against public drunkenness, those people should be arrested. However, nothing that I have read or heard about these sting operations has convinced me that anyone cited was "falling down drunk".

 

In Minnesota, there are no laws which prohibit public drunkenness, but there is a statute which proscribes bartenders and servers from serving people who are "obviously intoxicated", which is a rather subjective term. In fact, all licensed operators must display a sign featuring that statute. The problem is, there's a large difference between not legal to drive (.08) and obviously intoxicated.

 

If the standard for being arrested for public drunkenness is .08, then many establishments will have to close their doors. Say I'm at a good steakhouse; I have a martini as an aperitif, a glass of white wine with my oysters, a couple of glasses of wine with my meal and a snifter of cognac with my post-prandial cigar. Like a responsible citizen, I have either arranged for a sober driver or am taking cabs all night long.

 

With the standard of .08 being legally drunk for public drunkenness, my night is going to end now. If I ask for another brandy, since I'm only halfway through my cigar, the steakhouse may refuse me service. If the TABC agents come in, I may very well blow a .08 and get cited for public drunkenness. But I'm not drunk, really. And I certainly have no intention of driving. Too bad. It's for my own good and the good of society -- how can I be angry?

 

I don't condone Drunk Drivers. If anything, I think the penalties for repeat offenders should be increased, since it's those repeat offenders who cause the majority of the havoc on the roads. But the MADD people won't rest until a new form of prohibition is in place.

 

Mark my words, their next step is to lower the legal limit to .04, which means you can't drive after two beers. They'll collect some data about people who were killed by a driver who blew a .06 and "got off scot-free!" There's a lot bigger problems in the world than standing up to MADD, but people who work in bars and restaruants have to eat, too. Not to mention all the people involved in the beverage industry. How will the Wirtz family pay their bills?

 

Sorry I rambled here, but this is an issue I know something about and the crackdowns really rub me the wrong way.

[YASNY]

And change the laws to allow people to be falling down drunk in bars. If there is a law that should not be enforced, get rid of it, don't tell police not to enforce it.

 

There are times when enforcing that law, in a bar, is beneficial to all except the arrestee. For example, after a few drinks a guy goes to the bar to buy drinks for all at his table. There is a disagreement between the bartender and the customer as to whether the man gave the bartender two twenties or a twenty and a ten. The guy starts making a scene. The patrons in the immediate are are made uncomfortable as a result of this. Also, the bartender while dealing with this loudmouth, cannot properly to his job and take care of his other customers. The guy isn't falling down drunk, but has had a few. The cops are called and the man is taken out of the bar charged with PI. I saw this very type of thing happen this past Saturday night.

 

..... and my wrists still hurt.