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I'm in Chicago. From what I'm seeing on this thread, it seems that we have some of the most liberal alcohol laws around. We can't have open liquor in a car EXCEPT for in the trunk. For instance, you purchase a bottle of wine at a restaurant and don't consume all of it. You can cork it and store in your trunk to take home with you.
We also can't consume liquor in public parks EXCEPT when the liquor is bought my licensed vendors at the park. So you can't sit in a city park drinking your 6 pack, but if the city is hosting one of it's hundreds of festivals, you can purchase liquor there and drink it.
There are ways to get around that. I've attended outdoor concerts at parks and have managed to bring in my own stuff.
I do think we should be able to walk and drink like in New Orleans. The "to go cup" idea is great there. If you're not driving, who cares?
I've actually seen a couple bars hand out "to go" cups. Not sure if they were exploiting some loophole or if they were just plain breaking the law.
Isn't Missouri one of the only state's that still has no open-container or public intoxication laws. I don't agree with public intoxication laws, but all states should get with the script and ban open-containers in vehicle's.
Missouri you can be:
-Publically intoxicated
-no state laws against drinking in public (tho cities themselves can put limits) Certain places like P&L District in KC allow people to drink alcohol around outside within the district
-legal to own/sell/consume/import/transport absinthe
-no open container laws, passengers in cars can drink
-alcohol sold at gas stations, grocery stores, liqour stores until 1AM I believe.
-bars close at 3AM
-provisions that state cities and counties can't make laws that supercede state law
-parents and guardians can give alcohol to children but not to the level of neglect (they can't get drunk)
Liquor laws in Arkansas (AR) depend on what town/city you live in. Only a handful of cities in AR sell liquor (off premises) on Sundays. There are wet/dry counties, and wet counties with dry cities or precincts. For instance, Springdale and Fayetteville are in the same county (Washington). Liquor sales are allowed on Sundays in Springdale, but not in Fayetteville.
Here in Fayetteville, AR, there are no liquor off premises liquor sales on Sundays. Most convenience stores, drug stores, etc NOW sell beer and wine until 10 (11 at the very latest) on weeknights and 12am on Fridays and Saturdays. The same goes for liquor stores. Bars close at 2am unless it is dead, and then they will close earlier. In this city, most liquor stores can start selling alcohol @ 9am, but most gas stations and Wal-Marts have to wait until 10 or 11am.
As far as public intox goes, in this state (especially Fayetteville) you cannot be in public and appear intoxicated at all. One cannot be in the driver's side of a vehicle, at all, if they are intoxicated. Public intox can result in a citation or it could lead to arrest; depends on the officer. Open containers are not allowed, at all, most places in AR, but we do have drive-thru liquor stores; go figure. The only exception is taking home a bottle of wine from a restaurant. In that case, the proprietor must re-cork the wine and seal (usually by stapling) the wine in a bag.
One can brew their own beer and wine in Fayetteville, but of course they can't sell it nor make liquor. That last one is rarely enforced or at least I haven't heard of anyone getting busted. Plenty of moonshine in the Ozarks.
Again, it all depends on where you live and how well regulations are enforced. Growing up I lived in dry county, but had no problem buying liquor in the neighboring wet county. I currently live in a college town where law enforcement makes commission on the number of alcohol-related arrests, apparently. I haven't been under 21 for a while, and I still get carded everywhere for cigarettes and alcohol.
Wikipedia has a great post on this. Simply search "state liquor laws" on that site and get the latest regs for each state.
Some states have changed radically in recent years, such as Washington, where alcohol was always carefully monitored, but is now in the public domain. And more expensive.
I found Kansas and Oklahoma to be the most restrictive, with liquor stores always closed on Sundays, and even grocery stores only selling low-alcohol beers. Utah is a completely different story. They have loosened some rules, but it is still among the most restrictive in the U.S. A little known fact about Utah, it is illegal to bring in booze to that State from another State. Seriously.
I'd bet nearly if not actually all states have significant restrictions on the amount of booze you're allowed to bring in from across state lines. The only thing that distinguishes Utah's restrictions from other states is that their permitted quantity is zero.
Yeah, and that is just it. If you have even a pint in your car they can target it. However, I don't think this is happening on any regular basis. So why not just get rid of this outdated law?
It's not outdated. There are very good reasons why states restrict transportation of alcohol into their state, namely it's a fairly significant source of tax revenue and they don't want people circumventing those taxes.
In Pennsylvania, you can only drink in the basement of your house after midnight with the lights off, and then you must immediately go to sleep when you're done. Holding an open container of alcohol in your hand in public gets you sentenced to life in prison with no parole. The legal age for the purchase and consumption of alcohol is dead.
In Georgia, anything goes, except on Sundays. If you drink alcohol on Sundays, you're going to Hell.
It's not outdated. There are very good reasons why states restrict transportation of alcohol into their state, namely it's a fairly significant source of tax revenue and they don't want people circumventing those taxes.
Nonsense, for residents of other states that are just transporting personal quantities. Perhaps, I have have misunderstood how they enforce this, but someone bringing in a personal quantity to be fined is absolutely insane.
AZ checking in can buy whatever wherever whenever. You can get liquor at the gas station, we have liquor stores with drive-thrus.
However I believe our bars are required to close by 230a
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