Cutting off the tap to drunks is a messy business

  • Article by: CURT BROWN , Star Tribune
  • Updated: March 26, 2010 - 8:44 PM

It's illegal for bars to serve drunken people, but enforcing the law is incredibly difficult, state and local authorities are finding out.

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nationaljoeMar. 26, 10 8:56 PM

hmm... 366 bars, 27 fines. another shining example of your tax dollars at work, folks.

bottomlineMar. 26, 10 9:41 PM

I don't like this at all. Bar employees "checked" to make sure that they are "good parents" to customers?? What ever happened to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY by customers to WATCH THEMSELVES?

Or if a customer "easily drinks out of hand" ...why doesn't he "bring a friend" to "watch over him"??

This is ridiculous. Customer service employees have one function and one function ONLY ....listen to customers, and give them what they want. NOT be babysitters or parents. This is the job of friends or fellow partyers ,,,,

maxwellpowerMar. 26, 1010:11 PM

The only way the words responsible and drinking can work in a sentence is if it is in the context of lack thereof. You bottle babies don't have to worry. There's no evil boogieman lurking about in the bushes waiting to take your bottle away. You guys screw yourselves all by yourselves all the time - every time.

SupervonMar. 26, 1010:41 PM

There is no end to what the government will do. Let's get drinking out of bar and back into the car where it belongs.

johnnyg08Mar. 26, 1011:09 PM

The agents stats that they don't put a lot of resources into misdemeanor offenses...but unless the law changed, there are several misdemeanor DWI/DUI offenses and I'm pretty sure there's a good chunk of money going toward misdemeanor enforcement. That comment is simply not true.

reggie12Mar. 26, 1011:27 PM

Why couldn't they spend their time giving 366 rides home to people who probably shouldn't be driving? Wouldn't that make us safer? Seriously, 27 fines out of 366 bars? Where is the common sense!?!

tonytecMar. 26, 1011:44 PM

You should be held for your own actions. Period. Sure, you loose your inhibitions when you drink and then can drink beyond the norm. Your fault, plain and simple. I don't care if you are 15 either, there are no kids over the age of 12 who don't know the difference between what is right and wrong. I grew up inner city and even the biggest thugs knew they were thugs at 10, drunks at 10, or druggies at 10. Just more signed on each year. People make choices and we need to deal with our choices. Financial, ethical, and nutritional. We've gone way past too soft in A-meek-ica. Land of blame, home of the attorney fee.

mnfishrmanMar. 27, 1012:18 AM

Rides vs. DUI's. May be Less cops, less crowded courts, less lawyers, less people in jails, less ruined lives. Common sense, That's not the law enforcements style.........

bradtheissenlaMar. 27, 1012:23 AM

This story proves that between the Legislature and Law Enforcement, more must be done to stop the over pouring and over serving of intoxicated persons. It does no good to destroy someone's life with an arrest for being drunk, when the cause is the bartenders and servers who victimize their customers with over pouring and over service just to make a fast buck selling controlled substances.

joycen62Mar. 27, 1012:26 AM

I have seen lots of bartenders cut off patrons, who are rude and drunk, at the expense of their own income. Why is it that some people have 3 beers and become belligerent? Other people have 3 beers and are normal. Good bartenders see the difference. Why do some drunks drive at 90MPH, and other drinkers set the cruise control at the speed limit? The Point .10 is arbitrary and missing the bigger problem. We abhor the use of fishing nets that kill many fish who get caught accidentally. The bartender with many years of training is the states best ally. Get rid of these bartenders who are using it as a part-time job. The bartenders are dispensing medicine.


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