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Those of you who know me from my pre-pregnancy days and knew the party gal I was in college are aware of my affection for alcohol. Not alcoholic-affection, but an affection for a good night of drinking, dancing and just being plain silly.
With drinking comes the chance of being drunk. It's been rare in the last several years that I've been classified as drunk, but I have been on occasion...Sometimes I just forget to watch my consumption...and open bars make me really happy.
Anyway, looks like I'll be staying out of the state of Texas...seems like they're pretty strict out there:
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. ADVERTISEMENTThe 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.
"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.
Hmm, I can see raids in college towns to catch underage drinkers, but people getting arrested when they're IN A BAR? I dunno, I understand their reasons for it, but it seems a little too strict for me. Why not have your undercover agents follow people to their cars or set up surveillance in parking lots? Or wait til those drunk people get kicked out of the bar?
I mean, yeah, being drunk in a bar = public intoxication, but come on, isn't there another way? People won't want to go to bars anymore and will stick to house parties which a much more dangerous than being in bars (collapsing balconies, alcohol poisoning, etc)
Well, I guess I don't really have anything to worry about right now...since I can't drink any alcohol anyway and even if I did, my drunken partying days are over...that is, until my kid gets into college and I become that mom, the one who goes to the college bars and makes a complete drunken fool of herself as her son looks on and shakes his head. Oh yeah, I'm going to be SO awesome at that....
Posted by Yano at March 22, 2006 05:53 PMthat is messed up
its almost like entrapment
Damn it, can we college kids LIVE!!!!!
Posted by: TheDivineMissN on March 23, 2006 11:14 AMWOW!!!
I'm so glad I read your blog, because that article came from my city and I didn't have a clue. Not that I go to the bars more than maybe once a year, but it's good to know just in case.
My question is this. What if you're drunk at the bar, BUT you have a designated driver with you or plan on taking a cab? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of this stupid plan? It's almost like arresting people in a gun store, buying a gun, because they MIGHT kill someone with it.
I TOTALLY agree with you about the parking lots, because if you see them get in the car, THEN you know that's when they'll be driving drunk. Otherwise, it seems like a waste of tax payer money on something that isn't too efficient.
Posted by: Texx on March 23, 2006 08:49 PMI am a veteran of the United States Army for 15 years. And what is happening in the State of Texas is a violation of our rights and our freedom. Yes, I believe that anyone who is drunk and gets into a vehicle or attempts to get into a vehicle with the intent to drive should get arrested, charged with DWI, pay a high fine, and be sent to jail or prision for a long length of time. DWI has killed innocent people on the roads and highway, including innocent children. But, this new law is irrational and wrong. The problem with our lawmakers in our great State of Texas is that at times they will put out laws but don't really examine them with common sense or wisdom. When I first heard about people in social places such as bars, clubs, restaurants (that serve alcohol), and other places (where alcohol is served), it was very disturbing. It sounded like something you hear in Iraq or in a country where dictatorship rule. Yes, I am a supporter of MADD and I think there should be harsh measures to drunk drivers. But, the key word is drunk driver. Raids in social public places such a bar or club or restaurant is going to the extreme. The problem with this new law is the absence of intent of driving drunk and it is more into human assumption. And the freedom of choice is no longer belongs to us. I, at times, head to Fort Hood or Fort Sam Houston and get together with old Army buddies and checked out some of the bars and clubs or restaurants to have a good time. But, we are responsible to know that if we do some drinking of alcohol, we can choose to be responsible to use the taxi cab system, the bus system, or use the designated driver. Isn't such actions being in accordance to our laws or isn't such actions doing the right thing. But, we instead we now are subject to now possibly getting arrested for just drinking a few at a social place. Doesn't make more sense for these law enforcement agencies to be outside of a bar, club, social event (such as a festival), or restaurant and look for drunks who actually attempt to enter into their vehicles to drive drunk and then arrest them. Where is the wisdom in this?
Posted by: garryowen51 on March 25, 2006 12:40 PM
