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Both. The police were enforcing an outrageous (just in regard to a bar being a "public place", I have nothing against a law outlawing being drunk in and actual public place) public intoxication law whose manner of enforcement is even more outrageous and by its nature harassing and abusive (to all, not just the gays).
Personally, I'd like to see the law changed to require someone to be drunk AND fighting with someone else, to be drunk AND urinating in public, maybe even to be drunk AND cursing obnoxiously, that kind of thing, in a public place. I don't think being drunk, even in an actual public place, should be against the law.
If the person is so drunk they're passed out or in danger of alcohol poisoning, the police should be able to pick them up and take them to some detox facility or hospital.
Personally, I'd like to see the law changed to require someone to be drunk AND fighting with someone else, to be drunk AND urinating in public, maybe even to be drunk AND cursing obnoxiously, that kind of thing, in a public place. I don't think being drunk, even in an actual public place, should be against the law.
This is the de facto public intoxication law in most places (obviously not Ft. Worth Texas). Most cops are reasonable people, and will ignore a happy, harmless drunk.
Reminds me of the Ron White joke about being arrested for public intoxication. But seriously, this is unbloodybelievable. Do the cops in Texas have a different calendar than the rest of the country? Has anyone dropped them the hint that this is 2009 and NOT 1909?
"But I don't WANT to be drunk in "pub-lick"; I WANT to be drunk in a bar. They THREW me in "pub-lick"!!!"
I LOVED that skit, lol!
When we lived in Indiana, they have cops that are called "excise" that are the same thing as TACB. Most of them were pretty cool about drinkers, they usually came in to check the bar license out and to check for underagers, and people working w/o a liquor license. The only people I have ever seem them give trouble to was strip clubs, and I would say 75% of the time, it was plain harassment, and the other 25% somewhat justified.
Had the injuries occured somewhere else and none occured at the gay bar, nobody would be saying a word about it. But now we suddenly have that whole "hate crime" angle to play with.
Bull! Police over exerting their power and actually severely hurting ANYONE (save for people actually shooting at them or something like that) is always wrong. I always stand up for people that are the victims of excessive force.
Now if a guy was shooting at cops or something, yeah no biggie if he gets a few broken bones. But a skull fracture for being a horny drunk? NO WAY!
While I know and understand most LEO's are stand up guys and do their job well and w/o a power trip; it's the rotten eggs that just use their job as a legal way to be a bully. Those are the guys I want to see strung up by their short and curlies and have the public throw rotten food/fruit at them.
The checks are quite common here. As i posted it was not 9. 6 officers, two TABC. TABC can not arrest, they are there to cite the bar.6 officers to take down 9 drunks is not unreasonable.
9 straight drunks arrestees 7 gay drunks. A drunk is a drunk
The bar owner was on KRLD radio claiming that 27 were arrested at the gay bar. They were lined up against the wall outside...
The location of the bar, if it makes it any better, puts it within 3 minutes of 3 major hospitals. Anyone injured got medical attention fast.
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