Texas lawmakers drunk with power
Erin McNamee
Issue date: 3/27/06 Section: Opinion
If the Macomb Police Department did what the state of Texas is doing, the city would be rich.
Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, according to what a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said Wednesday.
The first bust of drunks was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb where police went to 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication. The state commission's Carolyn Beck has stated being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkenness.
The goal was to detain drunks before they had the opportunity to leave the bar and 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. 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."
The recent news coverage is getting national attention. After hearing this story, I could only think if Macomb police, who are known for busting underage drinking and false IDs, began doing this in Macomb, there wouldn't be enough holding cells. Half the population of Macomb would be arrested every weekend.
If one is 21 years of age, the legal drinking age, they should not be stalked down in bars and arrested when they have not committed a crime.
What Texas is doing is against one's rights. These people have not committed a crime. If police were to stake out parking lots of bars and wait for drunks to get behind the wheel and pull them over, then that would be smart, but to arrest drunken people while in a bar seems unconstitutional.
Many people go to bars after a long stressful day of work to unwind and have a few drinks with friends. The idea of knowing you are of the legal drinking age and may be arrested for drinking in a bar seems outrageous. Instead of being able to enjoy yourself with a few cocktails, you have the added pressure of knowing you may be arrested for the few drinks you had.
I think there are far better ways of handling the drinking and driving problem than taking away other people's enjoyment.
People in Texas don't know when they walk into the bar if they will walk out on their own. There are far bigger crimes going on in our country that need far more attention than busting a group of businessmen who met at a bar after work for a few drinks. Maybe Texas could use the suggestion of more public transportation.
The state is handling things all in the wrong way and should go back to the drawing board before ruining another person's enjoyment. According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the stings are going to continue throughout the state.
Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, according to what a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said Wednesday.
The first bust of drunks was conducted recently in a Dallas suburb where police went to 36 bars and arrested 30 people for public intoxication. The state commission's Carolyn Beck has stated being in a bar does not exempt one from the state laws against public drunkenness.
The goal was to detain drunks before they had the opportunity to leave the bar and 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. 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."
The recent news coverage is getting national attention. After hearing this story, I could only think if Macomb police, who are known for busting underage drinking and false IDs, began doing this in Macomb, there wouldn't be enough holding cells. Half the population of Macomb would be arrested every weekend.
If one is 21 years of age, the legal drinking age, they should not be stalked down in bars and arrested when they have not committed a crime.
What Texas is doing is against one's rights. These people have not committed a crime. If police were to stake out parking lots of bars and wait for drunks to get behind the wheel and pull them over, then that would be smart, but to arrest drunken people while in a bar seems unconstitutional.
Many people go to bars after a long stressful day of work to unwind and have a few drinks with friends. The idea of knowing you are of the legal drinking age and may be arrested for drinking in a bar seems outrageous. Instead of being able to enjoy yourself with a few cocktails, you have the added pressure of knowing you may be arrested for the few drinks you had.
I think there are far better ways of handling the drinking and driving problem than taking away other people's enjoyment.
People in Texas don't know when they walk into the bar if they will walk out on their own. There are far bigger crimes going on in our country that need far more attention than busting a group of businessmen who met at a bar after work for a few drinks. Maybe Texas could use the suggestion of more public transportation.
The state is handling things all in the wrong way and should go back to the drawing board before ruining another person's enjoyment. According to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the stings are going to continue throughout the state.
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