Just to keep the cigarette thread going. :thumbup

 

 

 

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 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.

 

"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.

 

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/23/texas.bars.reut/index.html

Wow.

 

That is the most controlling, big brother, unfree thing I've ever read. Can you imagine an officer of the law coming up to you and flashing their badge and saying, "Sir, you're going to have to come with us, you're intoxicated," in a f***ing bar!?

 

Gimme a break.

 

Plus, it's not like you can't call a taxi when you're drunk, etc. But, I guess so many drunks in Texas walk in the middle of the street and jump off balconies trying to hit a swimming pool and miss.

 

That's natural selection. If you're drunk, and you're walking in the middle of the street, or trying to jump into a pool off a balcony and miss... You don't deserve to live. I think it's un-Constitutional and un-American to have officers of the law watching citizenry and busting them when they haven't done anything wrong.

 

What the hell is wrong with this country lately?

Wow.

 

That is the most controlling, big brother, unfree thing I've ever read. Can you imagine an officer of the law coming up to you and flashing their badge and saying, "Sir, you're going to have to come with us, you're intoxicated," in a f***ing bar!?

 

Gimme a break.

 

Plus, it's not like you can't call a taxi when you're drunk, etc. But, I guess so many drunks in Texas walk in the middle of the street and jump off balconies trying to hit a swimming pool and miss.

 

That's natural selection. If you're drunk, and you're walking in the middle of the street, or trying to jump into a pool off a balcony and miss... You don't deserve to live. I think it's un-Constitutional and un-American to have officers of the law watching citizenry and busting them when they haven't done anything wrong.

 

What the hell is wrong with this country lately?

 

 

Yes sir. :thumbup

I mean what else do people go to bars for, other than to get laid?

Welcome to the Nanny State. In the new People's Republic of America, you will not smoke, drink, or sleep with your students. Sorry, couldn't resist.

coming next: no swearing in public places.

coming next: no swearing in public places.

 

That was part of the "good old days." Famous 1st amendment case, name slips my mind, where guy was arrested for saying f*** the draft outdoors. Luckily that stuff is protected now.

This reminds me of Ron White's standup. He got thrown out of a bar by the bouncers and the cops came and arrested him for being drunk in public. And he said "I don't want to be drunk in public, I want to be drunk in a bar. They THREW me in public."

 

Anyway...this is kinda ridiculous.

 

Scratch that. Very ridiculous.

TABC is gay.

 

 

Luckily I have never had to deal wtith their sh*t. Thank god.

This reminds me of Ron White's standup. He got thrown out of a bar by the bouncers and the cops came and arrested him for being drunk in public. And he said "I don't want to be drunk in public, I want to be drunk in a bar. They THREW me in public."

 

 

 

:lol :lol

 

I understand if they completely beligerant and barely able to stand up but come on this is idiotic

coming next: no swearing in public places.

 

That was part of the "good old days." Famous 1st amendment case, name slips my mind, where guy was arrested for saying f*** the draft outdoors. Luckily that stuff is protected now.

 

Well, in the 50's and 60's you had the FBI hounding Lenny Bruce for doing comedic material that was found to be detrimental to his listeners. Sexual and otherwise.

I dont get it you can be high and the cops cant do anything as long as you dont have drugs on you, but you cant be sh!t faced? As long as your not drivng a car there shouldnt be a problem. But shouldnt the cops be doing something else instead of being undercover and busting drunk people, how about they go pull over a drunk driver or patrol the streets and make sure some poor sole isnt getting mugged or raped down the alley.

amazing.

 

though the fact that they hit up 36 bars and made only 30 arrests is somewhat comforting; i'm thinking they're probably just arresting out-of-control a**holes.

 

I dont get it you can be high and the cops cant do anything as long as you dont have drugs on you

 

that's not true.

I remember stationed in Virginia they had very strict laws. Inside the bar you could not stand 10 feet with a drink in your hand close to the entry door. There was even a line drawn on the floor. You had beautiful female undercover agents working for the Alcohol Bureau at the time trying to get the servicemen in trouble. Many of the under 21 years of age sailors would get citations and the bars would get strict fines or possibly losing their license if waitresses do not ask for ID. I have not been their in 16 years and do not know if that is still practiced today. Anyone from Virginia please let me know.

coming next: no swearing in public places.

That was part of the "good old days." Famous 1st amendment case, name slips my mind, where guy was arrested for saying f*** the draft outdoors. Luckily that stuff is protected now.Cohen v. California. He didn't say it, it was on his jacket that he wore to a courtroom one day.

 

Warren court dropped the conviction and set him free.

Don't mess with Texas! :plain

coming next: no swearing in public places.

That was part of the "good old days." Famous 1st amendment case, name slips my mind, where guy was arrested for saying f*** the draft outdoors. Luckily that stuff is protected now.Cohen v. California. He didn't say it, it was on his jacket that he wore to a courtroom one day.

 

Warren court dropped the conviction and set him free.

Yeah, wore the jacket in a court building I believe. Issue of fighting words was more relevant than expression as speech in this thread though. His arrest was still more consistent with the general legislative attitude.

Busting drunks in bars... like shooting fish in a barrel.

If Shaq-man's hypothesis that they're simply arresting out-of-control drunks in bars is true, I have no problem with this.

 

It's not like a bar grants you extra rights to be a drunken a**clown.

 

But if they're just arresting random guys for being drunk, that's stupid.

To my knowledge, though, there is no legal limit to how much you can drink unless you are driving. If you're not driving and you're not going to be in public, you're done nothing wrong and you're basically being arrested for the potential of later committing a crime.

 

That's very lame, even if it's executed with the best of intentions.

To my knowledge, though, there is no legal limit to how much you can drink unless you are driving. If you're not driving and you're not going to be in public, you're done nothing wrong and you're basically being arrested for the potential of later committing a crime.

 

That's very lame, even if it's executed with the best of intentions.

 

It's like pre-crime from the minority report.

 

Except here, they're assuming that every drunk person commits a crime.

Minority Report was exactly what came to my mind, actually.

 

Definitely one of my favorite movies.

Can't Texas Law Enforcement find something more constructive to do.....like fighting crime? :blink:

To my knowledge, though, there is no legal limit to how much you can drink unless you are driving. If you're not driving and you're not going to be in public, you're done nothing wrong and you're basically being arrested for the potential of later committing a crime.

 

Being drunk in public is against the law.

 

This is true almost everywhere.

 

Last time I checked a bar is a public place.

 

Where it's right or whether it's wrong, the arrests are 100% lawful.

When cops come into the bars in Illinois, in civilian clothes, its to drink. Hell, cops even throw keggars out at their houses. Even (not so)undercover cops dont really care, they come in and are there for drug trafficing, they dont give a crap if you leave hammered. Thats the way you have to be, espicially in the town I primarially drink in(1,000 people, 4 bars). If you tried to do that you'd have to pull over every single car.

 

Ahh Illinois, such a great state.