The one substance that government at all levels in the United States has sought to regulate and tax like no other is alcohol.
The latest nanny-state infringement on liberty, property, and commerce is a bill that has been introduced in the Tennessee legislature to prohibit the sale of cold beer in an attempt to curtail drunk driving.
The bill was introduced on January 31 in the Tennessee senate (SB 2636) by Republican Paul Rose and was introduced in the Tennessee house (HB 2845) by Republican Ron Gant. The bill is titled “The Tennessee Prevention of Drunk Driving Act.” It “prohibits a beer permittee from selling at retail refrigerated or cold beer.” Another part of the bill would limit how many drinks a patron could have at a bar or restaurant unless they have a designated driver with them. The bill would also require law enforcement to work with the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) when they investigate a drunk driving crash to trace where the person obtained their alcohol.
According to Rep. Gant:
Let’s not make it easy for a person who is going to drink and drive to be able to continue to go in there and buy cold beer.
Is it such an inconvenience to only buy room temperature beer? And knowing that you’re doing that you are stopping bad actors from having easy access to cold beer.
If you look on the side of the road across our state, you’ll see the beer cans and the bottles that are littering our highways.
Although the bill passed two votes in the senate, Rep. Gant now says of the house bill that “the final version of the bill is still being drafted but the new version ‘will not include any language that prevents the sale of cold beer in Tennessee.’”
What is so ridiculous about that provision of the bill is that it is already illegal to drink beer while driving a motor vehicle. And whiskey, gin, and rum—which are never kept in the refrigerator—can be purchased from a liquor store in the same form in which it is often drunk.
The bill also shows a lack of understanding about why some beer is sold cold. Sharon Cheek, executive director of the Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild—a nonprofit organization that represents independent craft breweries across Tennessee—believes that the bill would significantly curtail the business of local craft breweries: “Without refrigeration, breweries would face substantial economic challenges and potential job losses. Many of our breweries are known for their unpasteurized beer and use of fresh, locally sourced ingredients.”
If the Tennessee legislature really wanted to significantly reduce drunk-driving accidents, then it would ban not just cold beer but all beer, wine, and distilled spirits. Tennessee is one of three states that are “dry” by default; that is, counties in those states must specifically authorize alcohol sales. (In Tennessee, Moore County—home to the Jack Daniel’s Distillery—is a dry county.) The Tennessee legislature could simply take away the ability of Tennessee counties to decide for themselves whether they will allow the sale of alcohol.
More regulation is not the answer to drunk driving. In fact, it is time to end the alcohol nanny state once and for all—in Tennessee and in every other state.
In every state, legal adults who can get married, enter into contracts, purchase pornography, adopt children, engage in consensual sex with other adults, vote, and join the military cannot purchase alcoholic beverages until they reach the age of 21. And those who are allowed to drink are faced with a patchwork of different laws across the country. Seventeen states are “Alcoholic Beverage Control” states, which means the government has control over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all types of alcoholic beverages, especially distilled spirits. In some states, the government owns and operates all the liquor stores and outlaws private retailers. In most states, distilled spirits can only be purchased at a liquor store. Some states ban happy hours. In many states and counties, no alcoholic beverages of any kind can be sold before a certain time on Sunday. And in others, no alcohol can be sold for off-premise consumption. In most every state, bars have to close at a certain time on weekdays and weekends. In many states, grocery stores can sell distilled spirits only in a separate store or in an attached location that has its own entrance. In every state, no alcohol can be sold without getting a liquor license.
Alcohol should not be treated any different from any other commodity. Government should not have a monopoly on liquor sales. The drinking age should not be age 21 when individuals are legally adults at age 18. Alcohol sales should not be restricted on certain days and during certain hours. And no one should need a license to manufacture or sell alcohol.
The bottom line is simply this: It is not the proper role of government to prohibit the sale, discourage the use, or regulate the commerce of alcohol.
