You Can’t Get Drunk In Texas
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Bad Decisions, Law
I REALLY like Austin and have thought about setting up shop down there, but nonsense like this makes me think twice. It’s not about the drinking. It’s about the whole “rights” thing.
I guess Texas really is like a whole other country…
Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said 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 drunkenness, Beck said.
The goal, she said, was to detain drunks before they leave a bar and go do something dangerous like drive a car.
Wow. I guess they’ve got that whole “crime” thing solved down there, eh? Because otherwise, some may think the police are wasting valuable tax dollars trolling around in bars and sniffing on people.
Centerfield, where I found this bit of nonsense, has these thoughts:
Then, if Texas is any judge, we’ll soon have every person who dares go to a bar blowing into a policeman’s breathalyzer hose. Never mind that some of the patrons may have walked to the bar, the risk is too great. 4 beers? Protective custody! What’s next after that? Well, why not have carstart breathalyzer tests for EVERY car as a public safety device? It’s undeniably safer for everyone!!
Seriously, nothing better to do with your time coppers? Amazing…
This entry was posted on Friday, March 24th, 2006 and is filed under Bad Decisions, Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:34 am
“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.”
Again, as I said on the open thread . . . these are the next most common ways to die from drinking too much, after car accidents, and so I’m really glad that this is happening. In fact, I propose that the cops also do this little routine at restaurants, especially the really nice ones where only rich white men can afford to eat. I would hate to see them end up in a bad way after trying to dive into their hotel swimming pools.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
I’m ever skeptical of our overly litigious society, but honestly, this one really does need to be challenged in court.
What a hornet’s nest.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
Wow…. Texas just got crossed off my “places to vacation” list.
Just another case of the govt protecting us from ourselves.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
This is stupid. I bet if we elect Kinky he’ll put an end to this.
March 24th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
once when i was in texas staying at my aunts new house, i got so saucy that i ended up kicking my aunt out of her bed when i got home. supposedly i got sick, and being that her bedroom was right by the bathroom i felt it appropriate to stay there (so as not to toss the bean en route to the bathroom from the guest room).
The next time i visit, i plan the same level of intoxication, just minus the sick and kicking out of bed part.
come and get me coppers!
March 24th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkenness.
Uh, it does if the bar is a private establishment, doesn’t it, i.e. the patrons aren’t even in “public”? Or are the bars there owned by the government? If I were a bar owner, I’d be suing their pants off. Freakin’ ridiculous.
March 24th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
The whole thing reminds me of Ron White’s “They Call me ‘Tater Salad’” bit- “I wasn’t drunk in PUB-lic…I was drunk in a BAR…they THREW me into PUB-lic…”
That being said, drunk driving is a problem everywhere, despite numerous warnings about the dangers. And the problem seems to be even worse in Texas, home of the macho drunken cowboy.
Personally, I can’t fathom why anyone would want to get smashed in a public place and risk humiliating themselves. If I ever got that drunk, I’d prefer to be at home, where at least my hubbie can make sure I don’t hurt myself.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
The more I think of this the more I wonder about how they’re enforcing it. Are these undercover cops hanging out watching how many drinks people have and then busting people when they hit 4 or 5? or are they busting the idiot who has 15 beers, a couple of shots, harrasses everyone and then vomits in the corner? I don’t like this kind of police action, and I too want to know why bar owners aren’t suing, but I like the guy (or girl) puking in the corner even less (except when it’s me).
March 24th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
BTW Justin,
Where did you get that picture. It’s awesome.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Google Images. Had to search through about 7 pages of stuff before I found that gem.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Let me give you my slant on Texas …. I was stationed there in 60’s at Lackland AFB. I made sure that when I left, I brought everything home, so I had no reason to go back. The only good thing that has come out of Texas since is Ron White. I’ll bet that he has a field day with this one.
On the subject of the cops … they are no different than the soldiers … they follow orders. Who ever dreamed this one up needs to be found and put away somewhere so they can’t tap him to run Homeland Security or FEMA. Don’t blame the cops, as most are just working stiffs trying to do a decent job under bad circumstances.
Justin, what have you done to my pet Armadillo? That’s just wrong. Don’t expect me to pay for another round in detox … he must have the gene.
March 24th, 2006 at 5:04 pm
You know, being a Texan and having spent some quality time in more than a few of our wonderful drinking establishments, I have to think the threshhold for “public intoxication” must be pretty high if there were only 30 arrests in 36 bars.
Less than one drunk person per bar? In Texas?
I’ll have to look into this but my gut feeling is that this a short-term thing to scare a few of the worst offenders into not drinking themselves into a stupor.
Unless they start rounding up larger numbers, I’m not going to worry when I go out.
March 24th, 2006 at 5:36 pm
ASC,
I’m sure you’re not planning on drinking yourself into a stupor, but just make sure you don’t act too drunk either or you might arouse suspicion.
Don’t raise your voice too much or laugh alot. Don’t lean back and shut your eyes, or you might look like you’ve passed out. If your friends have stories about you being wasted in the past, ask them to save them for when you aren’t in public. You don’t want to be targeted by the undercover cops. And of course, WATCH YOUR STEP. If some guy’s foot is in your pathway and you trip over it, you might get cuffed before you can even get up.
I think it’s absurd that anyone has to worry about this at all. If you want to have ten beers at a bar and yell with your friends a little, you shouldn’t have to worry about getting arrested. It’s a bar.
March 24th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
WHY,WHY,WHY, ARE YOU PEOPLE SURPRISED ABOUT TEXAS, AFTER ALL, THAT’S BUSH COUNTRY.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
Tally,
Actually, Texas has a pretty solid libertarian tradition. As a Texan, I am pretty surprised about this. I don’t think anywhere near a majority of the people would support it.
But, as I said before, I’m not sure it’s a big story at this point. It’s one of those little things that gets picked up on blogs and people get all indignant over it and then you never hear about it again.
I would caution anyone who wants to use this to bash Texas that your state is probably also doing some weird stuff you haven’t heard about.
March 25th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
“WHY,WHY,WHY, ARE YOU PEOPLE SURPRISED ABOUT TEXAS, AFTER ALL, THAT’S BUSH COUNTRY.”
1) Why do you feel the need to use ALL CAPS?
2) Austin is most assuredly not “Bush country.”
March 26th, 2006 at 2:05 am
I got arrested in a bar just off 6th street for Public Intoxication. I was taken out of the bar by a plainclothes police officer. I’d had 6 beers over a 7 hour stretch, I’m 6 foot 195lbs. You do the math on the rate of absorption(.015/hr). Anyway, I refused the breathalyzer stating to the cop that this was a bunch of baloney. I wasn’t sloppy, I wasn’t loud, I wasn’t fighting… I was celebrating a Texas victory over West Virginia. Needless to say, refusing the breath test made me guilty and I was in jail right away. btw- My car was 10 miles away and my ‘drinking plan’ was to take a taxi home to a buddy’s house. We do this frequently as a number of friends have DWI’s and they are no fun at all.
I’m going to fight this ticket based upon what I consider an infringement of my rights as an adult and really as a human. I’m also thinking of countersuing for that same reason. While I agree with getting people out from behind the wheels while intoxicated, I do not agree with this method.
March 26th, 2006 at 2:13 am
btw-Anyone out there that has had this happen understands that this is complete BS. Given the recent news coverage I think most people think the same way.
If it’s happened to you, please write about it. If it’s happened to you or you disagree with this then you need to speak out about it. There’s only one way to change these damn laws in this state. We the people are in control of this. Never mind…Oooops…I just went back in time 200 years ago when that was true. But seriously, the law has gone a little too far with this. Entrapment, civil rights violations?
March 30th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Speaking as a Texan I can say for certain that Austin is the citadel of liberalism in Texas. You can swing a dead cat in Austin without hitting a Democrat. You might also hit a Green party member or Libertarian party member to boot. And while I am surprised that the city opted to pester bar patrons so Austin is an odd enough place that most Texans would just say, “Only in Austin…”
March 30th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
Yeah, Austin is a cool city. But hey, Austin is also weird. Heh.
My mom lives down there and she tells me that cops are not anywhere close to being liberal. It may make sense then that the lawmakers aren’t either?
Don’t know, just speculating…