If only there were other places you could get alcohol. Oh wait, here in the buckle of the bible belt you can get it at grocery stores, convience stores and DELIVERED TO YOU.
More than that, he has claimed “total authority.”
Im not a lawyer but the feds can use the Commerce Clause to do whatever the hell they want when it comes to interstate commerce.
I’m not defending the decision to consider liquor stores essential. Not being a drinker, I don’t have a dog in the fight. But I’m married to the clinical director of a counseling center who works with substance abusers, and this is the rationale she’s heard from the state.
In Pennsylvania the liquor stores were the first thing to close. Up until recently, these state stores were the only place you could buy wine and liquor. There are some few supermarkets which now have permits to sell such, but not many, and while some wineries have gone through the laborious process of getting such a permit, again there are not many. And it is illegal to bring it in from out of state. So, clearly, in PA alcoholic beverages are deemed non-essential. While they may be right (I don’t think them essential) - the pre-existing laws protecting the state-run stores now make it near impossible to source these in ways perfectly legal anywhere else. And that is overreach.
In my parts…I don’t know if it was the mayor or governor who just hand-waved away laws or regulations to allow bars to deliver alcohol.
I mean, in a way that’s insane overreach, but it also illustrates how …weird? Is that the word im looking for?..society is.
To deliver booze would require a state ballot question, and it would almost certainly fail. But with a wave of the hand its allowed.
And ftr, I also don’t have a dog in this race. I just think its funny that the Karentiners on my FB feed will photograph and shame an ice cream delivery man (food trucks are allowed to be open arnt they??) but not say a word about booze delivery or liquor stores.
Its a great idea to allow bars to deliver drinks. People could drink at home and avoid driving…home saving lives and 502s. What would be a reason to oppose this?
Not in the US, but just to show you how bad it could be.
In south africa, for the duration of the lockdown there is currently a complete ban on the sale of: All alcohol, and all tobacco products. These being non-essential services, of course. So a smoker goes to the grocery, there is a whole shelf full of smokes, but they are cordoned off. You are not allowed to buy them.
Yes, the grocery is still open.
Yes, they still have current stock of smokes.
No, you are not allowed to buy them.
In Michigan, a ban on buying seeds.
Sounds very strange, considering that letting people grow “victory gardens” would help them avoid contact with people at supermarkets, by growing their own food.
Here’s a weird story that was on the local front pages but I still have no idea what exactly happened. Apparently 7 people were arrested and fined $1,000 each for buying “non-essential beverages” and crossing city lines, from Fremont to Santa Cruz. I don’t know what law they exactly are violating, does driving to another city make the fine stand, or was it because they “presumably” were all traveling in a group?
I’ve read several stories of people getting fined for violating these executive orders, but when you read the articles, without fail, the police attempted to warn the people and let them go on their way, but the people they warned basically told the officer to go get fucked that this was the United States of America and that they would do whatever they damned well pleased and the officer was pretty much forced to issue a citation.
Are there examples of Barney Fifes out there really taking this thing to the max? I’m sure there are here and there but if widespread, it will cause backlash.
I know I said it before, but the PA onslaught continues with PA residents going to other states to buy liquor. Why can’t the governor either open up the state stores or temporarily allow grocery stores to sell it? Stop causing issues for other states; if you want to fuck up your own, then face the voters next time, but has certainly caused issues on the east coast.
The morons did not merely cross a city limit. Fremont (Alameda County) and Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz County) are ~50 miles apart with San Jose (Santa Clara County) between. Those counties were the among the nation’s first to issue Stay At Home orders. I doubt the morons will find a judge who finds their cruising an hour around San Francisco Bay and over the Coast Range for booze amid a publicized lockdown to be necessary travel.
MrsRico and I are former Santa Cruzers and it’s very few hours away. But this is not the time to revisit old days.
If I get stopped on the way to my essential business, I guess I’ll tell the cop, “I’m on my way to my essential business”, but what if he doesn’t accept my word for it?
My nephew got some sort of letter from DHS (possibly via his employer) stating that he was employed in an essential industry. He’s supposed to carry it with him so he has something to show the cops.
The DHS list is pretty broad, IMHO. He pours concrete for a construction company and they aren’t building hospitals or anything like that.
Wow, I have a nephew who runs a concrete business. Maybe your nephew works for my nephew (in PA). I don’t have a letter, and I can’t be bothered to start making calls or writing emails to get one. Maybe I’ll put some business cards in my wallet.
But booze is sold because it is considered “essential” right? So how is traveling to buy it not “essential”?
Nobody any closer than 50+ miles away, in the high-population Bay Area, sold the booze they wanted?
Not to play lawyer ball, but does the order that says shopping for booze is allowed say that you must only use the liquor store the closest to your house? How does being in a car that extra distance spread the virus? Maybe that place had better prices or a better selection.
Stops along the way. Gas, snacks, fornication, who knows?
And you are playing lawyer ball. Even more chaotic than Calvinball.
For a 50 mile trip? When this is over, I want to go on a road trip with you. They seem a hell of a lot more fun than mine.