Open Containers in Public

[AGRP]

A few days ago I witnessed a few people walk outside their apartment and it looked like they were celebrating something and they opened what looked to be beers. One said "I don't think we're supposed to be drinking these in public." I kept walking and a couple bike cops snuck up on them and busted them. I overheard one cop say "oh yeah" in a giddy tone. Witnessing this made me furious. As far as Im concerned, none of them did anything wrong. Are people supposed to have an innate ability to know every single law the second they walk out their doors and into public? Maybe Im being rhetorical since I realize it's a local law, but then again it's things like this that have made me move towards being a volunteerist/anarchist/etc.

[Rael]

What shitty luck.

I guess it would be better if they got hammered inside first before going out.

[TheTexan]

Cops need to stop enforcing this stuff. You'd think they had better things to do.

[muzzled dogg]

I vaguely remember reading these laws were to assimilate eastern european immigrants. Can anyone confirm?

Was that in 'for a new liberty'?

[Kludge]

So I guess "fetal murder" (not abortion) can result in a fine (and prison time) in some states. If police are rewarded - and sometimes have quotas - for open alcohol in public or reckless driving, how could they argue against having a quota on fetal murder? How about one fetal murder per officer per month in areas with a large population? That way, we could be sure the police are enforcing the law instead of common sense.

[Eroberer]

It's legal here in Germany. People hear about our laws like this in the USA and think we're crazy.

[Keith and stuff]

I vaguely remember reading these laws were to assimilate eastern european immigrants. Can anyone confirm?

Was that in 'for a new liberty'?

Maybe where you live but are those folks common where you live? I was told that the law was put in place in Keene, NH in the 1970s because people wouldn't stop pissing in public and I guess other unruly behavior. Honestly, having partied in such areas many times, my guess is that public urination was actually a legitimate problem related to public drinking. It is still legal to be drunk in public in NH but I think every town/city has a rule/ordinance/law against open containers.

I've been to places where it is still legal but those places tend to be small sections of large cities such as Kansas City, Memphis, Savannah, New Orleans, Reno and Las Vegas.

If you want tips on drinking in public, I certainly have some as I've done it many times. Get a 16-20 oz coke bottle and drink 1/3 of it. Add whiskey or rum until it is full. Or, get a 16.9 oz water bottle. Drinking 1/6 to 1/3 of it and fill it up with everclear or vodka or gin. If you are going to do this, do it in the day time and don't do it if you cannot act normal when drunk when you need to.

IMO, the best thing is to just party on either your property or your friend's property. You can be drunk in the front yard if you want random people to see you. Then just walk home when you are drunk or have a friend drive you. I've done that many times.

[fisharmor]

Cops need to stop enforcing this stuff. You'd think they had better things to do.

Looks like I need to keep saying it.
This IS their job.
Think about it. There's no other reason to have roving enforcers.
Do they prevent murders? No. Do they prevent rapes? No.
Do they make a shit-ton of arrests for stupid bullshit like enjoying a beer in front of your house?

How can people say with a straight face that cops have anything to do with murder and rape?
They don't even care about finding the right guy when they're investigating something after the fact.

This is their job. This is why they exist. To harass us, fine us, beat us up, and throw us in rape cages.
Us.
Not criminals.
Us.

[AGRP]

What shitty luck.

I guess it would be better if they got hammered inside first before going out.

Thats what most people do, but is it really safer to do it before going out? People probably put the public/themselves at much greater risk if theyre forced to do it at home before leaving because there is a much greater incentive to get plastered before they leave. Its the same logic of "Im not going to eat for a while, so I better engorge on everything in sight before the fast." That's what Mardi Gras is all about. To me, it is a form of prohibition. Those kids who got caught were among the most sober people on the street that night.

[pcosmar]

It is a law in may areas. The purpose of it is to target and harass certain "undesirables" .
It is generally selectively enforced.

[Anti Federalist]

Are people supposed to have an innate ability to know every single law the second they walk out their doors and into public?

No, since this is impossible.

What they are supposed to do is stifle every urge, emotion, thought and action and strive for utter and complete compliance.

They are supposed to guard their thoughts, emotions and deeds, realizing that each and every minute they are under complete surveillance, and enmeshed in an unknowable labyrinth of laws, codes, rules and regulations that, the breaking of any one, whether knowingly or not, will result in swift, immediate and sometimes brutal enforcement.

And you never know when the hammer will fall. So you spend every day, walking on eggshells. Which is what the system wants.

And that's what a police state is.

[asurfaholic]

I think this law exists only to prevent drunkards to be roaming the city, possibly walking into traffic, or doing stupid things.. Urinating in the fountain probably makes for a yellow water.

Not that its working too good, I think the opposite should be the case. The law should state, that if you are drinking in public, you SHOULD have an open container, so you can piss in that instead.. Would solve all our problems!!

[eduardo89]

It's legal here in Germany. People hear about our laws like this in the USA and think we're crazy.

Can you imagine something like a Kastenlauf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kastenlauf) being illegal?!

[LibertyRevolution]

This is one them laws they use to hassle everyone that is chillin on the porch, make them empty there pockets, and nab them on possession.
This is why the package store hands you your 22oz or 40oz in a bottle sized brown paper bag.

I have had cops hassle me about an opened (yet capped) 1.75L of vodca in the backseat of my car...
I said, what you want me to drink it all in one sitting? He lol'ed took my bottle and let me go..

[Dr.3D]

Sometimes it pays to go undercover.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEER-CAN-COVER-SLEEVE-HIDE-CAMO-WRAP-KOOZIE-PEPSI-COLA-/170562313022?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

[Dr.3D]

This is one them laws they use to hassle everyone that is chillin on the porch, make them empty there pockets, and nab them on possession.
This is why the package store hands you your 22oz or 40oz in a bottle sized brown paper bag.

I have had cops hassle me about an opened (yet capped) 1.75L of vodca in the backseat of my car...
I said, what you want me to drink it all in one sitting? He lol'ed took my bottle and let me go..

That's why if I'm going to drink and drive, I only have the little 50ml bottles like you see on airlines. Once it's empty it isn't a problem and all the rest are still full. I've found those fifths to be a little too much at a time. :D

[ZanZibar]

No victim, no crime.


But this is the goal of an authoritarian regime. The goal is to make sure everyone is out of compliance, and then just selectively enforce it.

[Becker]

many times cops will give you a warning and tell you that its your first time, don't do it again.

But yes, you should do in Rome as Romans do, ignorance is not an excuse.

[Anti Federalist]

many times cops will give you a warning and tell you that its your first time, don't do it again.

But yes, you should do in Rome as Romans do, ignorance is not an excuse.

Wow, you're something.

You've memorized all 57,000 pages of CFRs, all 30,000 pages of the USC federal statutes, not to mention the millions of local, county and state rules, codes, edicts and laws, and are full compliance at all times.

Well done.

[Verrater]

many times cops will give you a warning and tell you that its your first time, don't do it again.

But yes, you should do in Rome as Romans do, ignorance is not an excuse.

Ignorance isn't an excuse according to the courts. you are right. But simply saying this is the way things are, deal with it, is...morally reprehensible.
Forgive me if i misinterpreted.

[Flugel89]

One of the nice laws, or lack-there-of here where I live.

I can walk down the street drinking a bottle of whiskey.

Open container laws are in my opinion just another "feel good" failure of a law. Drinking a beer at the park hurts no one.

[IDefendThePlatform]

One of the nice laws, or lack-there-of here where I live.

I can walk down the street drinking a bottle of whiskey.

Open container laws are in my opinion just another "feel good" failure of a law. Drinking a beer at the park hurts no one.

Glad to give you your first +rep

[CaptainAmerica]

Private property rights is the issue.Cops have no respect for property rights,and the courts no longer view property as property.

[Becker]

Wow, you're something.

You've memorized all 57,000 pages of CFRs, all 30,000 pages of the USC federal statutes, not to mention the millions of local, county and state rules, codes, edicts and laws, and are full compliance at all times.

Well done.

nope. I just memorized what people get arrested for in my town and avoid going places where I don't expect to fit in.

[Becker]

Ignorance isn't an excuse according to the courts. you are right. But simply saying this is the way things are, deal with it, is...morally reprehensible.
Forgive me if i misinterpreted.

I respect your opinion, I just know how not to get arrested or fined.

I don't wanna be this woman.
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/sep/15/truck-testicle-trial-delayed-until-nov-2/

[AFPVet]

There are very few peace officers anymore... they are "law enforcement". Most of these are "beat" cops who don't have enough training to take on the real cases which detectives handle... so they pick on everyone else. You would think they if they wanted to do some real police work, they would at least try to serve the public in some capacity rather than stirring up trouble.

[mport1]

Maybe Im being rhetorical since I realize it's a local law, but then again it's things like this that have made me move towards being a volunteerist/anarchist/etc.

Good to hear. The initiation of force is always wrong. No victim, no crime.

[mport1]

Cops need to stop enforcing this stuff. You'd think they had better things to do.

Their jobs are to raise money for the government, that is exactly what they are supposed to be doing.

[AFPVet]

Good to hear. The initiation of force is always wrong. No victim, no crime.

Amen!

[pcosmar]

nope. I just memorized what people get arrested for in my town and avoid going places where I don't expect to fit in.

:(
What a sad existence. Basing your life on fear of being arrested.
I prefer freedom. I go everywhere.

[kahless]

many times cops will give you a warning and tell you that its your first time, don't do it again.

But yes, you should do in Rome as Romans do, ignorance is not an excuse.

Spoken like a true soldier of the state. What harm is it doing to you if someone is walking down the street with an open container?

[VoluntaryAmerican]

I always saw this as a deterent from public drinking inorder to corral all the drinkers into bars... perhaps bar owners lobbied government.
Can anyone back up my claim? I haven't researched the matter, just speculating.

[pcosmar]

I always saw this as a deterent from public drinking inorder to corral all the drinkers into bars... perhaps bar owners lobbied government.
Can anyone back up my claim? I haven't researched the matter, just speculating.

In many places it is selectively enforced and targets a certain class of drinkers.

Generally, the poor. or the homeless.