Drinking in public

Depends on the city/county ordnances. This is not a country or state wide 'law'. For example where I live you can not drink outside of a bar/restaurant unless it is enclosed by a fence. i.e. a back patio. In Las Vegas you can walk down the strip drinking a beer. I also believe you can drink in public during Marty Gras in New Orleans.

And yes you can order a alcoholic beverage outside as long as it is within the ordnances. Generally speaking your friend is correct. There are exceptions.

There are some dumb beer laws in certain states.

One of the main sticking points out here is whether the beer has been poured into a glass (a cup or a mug) or if it's still in the bottle or can. Most places out here don't like people drinking beer from bottles on the street. So too with wine, that's why sometimes you'll see characterizations of winos holding bottles wrapped in brown bags. You can get in serious trouble drinking beer in a bottle on most of the beaches out here too. The concern there pertains more to the risk of breaking glass. Beer in cans not such problem on the beach. In Baja California, Mexico if you want to drink beer on the street or on the boardwalk, you have to wrap it in a brown bag - at least that was the case 20 years ago when I went there during spring break.

Looking at that picture, it's easy to see why people are allowed to order drinks. There are no cars there, only pedestrians.

Yeah, there are some dumb beer laws, that's for sure. I'm not too sure on the specifics in my area (western WA) but it seems you can drink outside in the following cases:

1.) In an enclosed (usually fenced) area connected to a bar. You can smoke out there too (our state enacted a no smoking indoors policy some time ago).

2.) On your own private property (of course).

3.) On a boat, though this is a somewhat of a fuzzy situation. The 0.08 BAC legal limit is set for the drivers, so any boat operator caught above 0.08 can be charged just as harshly as a DUI. I couldn't find anything that pertained to passengers, seems that they can drink and not receive any charges. Don't quote me on that though.

The last time I went fishing we brought some beer to drink, and it seemed that others out on the lake were doing the same.

4.) In a beer garden, usually set up at fairgrounds during events.

5.) On campgrounds.

I'm not too sure about the beach, I haven't been down there recently.

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Original post by LessBread There are no cars there, only pedestrians.

Anyone else get a picture in their mind? [wink]

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Original post by agi_shi Quote: Original post by LessBread There are no cars there, only pedestrians. Anyone else get a picture in their mind? [wink]

I get the point, but I think that that picture is trying to insinuate that there aren't McDonald's in Europe. Wut?

I think the pedestrian vs. car traffic argument is pretty valid. There aren't many streets that look like that here, alcohol or not, unless you are in a theme park. And the laws vary quite a bit, but "public drunkenness" (however they word it) can be a crime, and DUI's are pretty serious crimes, so allowing beer outside of patios of restaurants and the like and on the street seems to be asking for trouble.

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Original post by LessBread One of the main sticking points out here is whether the beer has been poured into a glass (a cup or a mug) or if it's still in the bottle or can. Most places out here don't like people drinking beer from bottles on the street. So too with wine, that's why sometimes you'll see characterizations of winos holding bottles wrapped in brown bags. You can get in serious trouble drinking beer in a bottle on most of the beaches out here too. The concern there pertains more to the risk of breaking glass. Beer in cans not such problem on the beach. In Baja California, Mexico if you want to drink beer on the street or on the boardwalk, you have to wrap it in a brown bag - at least that was the case 20 years ago when I went there during spring break. Looking at that picture, it's easy to see why people are allowed to order drinks. There are no cars there, only pedestrians.

Yeah if you don't want to get a ticket it's best to error on the side of caution and stick to drinking inside over here.
It seems like every place has it's own rules and little quirks. For example I went to the beach in San Diego with my cousin and his friends and he got a ticket from a cop for having taking his beer with him to the restroom. It seems that you can drink as many beers as you want out in the open as long as you stay on the sand. As soon as you step off onto the boardwalk as they call it or into the public streets an officer will give you a ticket it seems.
It's becoming the same with smoking now it seems too. I heard that the guy that was in the Transformer and new Indiana Jones movie got a ticket not long ago for lighting up a cigarette in Burbank,CA not long ago. It seems that you can be ticketed for smoking in public now in some areas. Unless there is a lot of public signs stating so I don't see how anyone would know since as everyone has mentioned it's not uniform or anything?

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Original post by LessBread Looking at that picture, it's easy to see why people are allowed to order drinks. There are no cars there, only pedestrians.

That's just incidental; it wouldn't be too hard to take a similar picture with people drinking outside a pub with a busy main road running outside the front.

I love these forums. "Dumb laws" limiting consumation of alcohol? I suppose you were not the same people putting down on that dude in the weed thread a few weeks ago? I mean, there's such a huge difference. Crap and crap.

Anyway. Sweden is obviously too in Europe, and here it's not allowed to drink publically, only if you're within a certain area that is under control by guards and is set as a public drinking area.

There was a bit of upset here in London last month - we're no longer allowed to drink on the tube (courtesy of our new mayor).

Drinking outdoors is generally fine. Occassionally there are specific rules eg. before a football game, but things are reasonably flexible (except on public transport).

Slightly off topic, but a friend of mine was drinking in his apartment, playing GH3 with the sound turned up high. Neighbors called the cops, they came asked him to step outside and arrested him for public intoxication.

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Original post by Tha_HoodRat Slightly off topic, but a friend of mine was drinking in his apartment, playing GH3 with the sound turned up high. Neighbors called the cops, they came asked him to step outside and arrested him for public intoxication.

Well, at least that makes the rock star experience complete. :/

In WI I think the patio has to be enclosed by a fence. I went to Las Vegas for Spring Break and it was so wierd because you could grab any kind of alcoholic beverage and walk around with it. You could grab a beer from a bar and go shopping while carrying it around drinking.

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Original post by bschneid I think the pedestrian vs. car traffic argument is pretty valid. There aren't many streets that look like that here, alcohol or not, unless you are in a theme park.

So what makes you think that street is representative of Europe? We do have cars here too, you know. And there are plenty of pubs, cafes and bars facing heavily trafficked streets.
And they still have people outside drinking. Just like there are people drinking in public, *without* standing directly outside a bar or cafe. The absence of cars in that picture isn't really significant.

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And the laws vary quite a bit, but "public drunkenness" (however they word it) can be a crime, and DUI's are pretty serious crimes, so allowing beer outside of patios of restaurants and the like and on the street seems to be asking for trouble.

I'm not sure I see the connection here. Are they afraid that drivers grab the beer out of peoples hands as they pass? Or perhaps the fog of alcohol penetrates the passing cars and influences the drivers?

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Original post by Lode A friend of mine claimed that in the US, you cannot legally order a beer on the outdoor part of a cafe, only inside.

In Ontario, Canada (where I've lived for the last many decades) this is definitely the case. Establishments get around the law by providing a wall (which may be no more than a railing or maybe even velvet ropes) and a roof (which may look remarkably like an umbrella) for sidewalk patios. Put a rope around a part of the sidewalk and an umbrella over the table and it's suddenly 'inside' for the purposes of the liquor license act.

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Original post by Lode This is a typical view of a town in Europe: Here, people order drinks, including beers and other alcoholic drinks. A friend of mine claimed that in the US, you cannot legally order a beer on the outdoor part of a cafe, only inside. I find this hard to imagine, because it's something so natural where I live. So, is it true or not? Or only in certain states?

So nice to see such civilised drinking. Not one of those people is passed out in the gutter in a pool of their own vomit as you so often see in the UK.

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Original post by ukdeveloper Quote: Original post by Lode This is a typical view of a town in Europe: Here, people order drinks, including beers and other alcoholic drinks. A friend of mine claimed that in the US, you cannot legally order a beer on the outdoor part of a cafe, only inside. I find this hard to imagine, because it's something so natural where I live. So, is it true or not? Or only in certain states? So nice to see such civilised drinking. Not one of those people is passed out in the gutter in a pool of their own vomit as you so often see in the UK.

When in the presence of a lady, they seem to bring there own rather oddly shaped bags to dispose of their bodily fluids.
What a delightful little country!

Heh. Seriously, that's probably a Baguette in a paper bag and the guy was simply too lazy to take it out.

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Original post by Bregma Quote: Original post by Lode A friend of mine claimed that in the US, you cannot legally order a beer on the outdoor part of a cafe, only inside. In Ontario, Canada (where I've lived for the last many decades) this is definitely the case. Establishments get around the law by providing a wall (which may be no more than a railing or maybe even velvet ropes) and a roof (which may look remarkably like an umbrella) for sidewalk patios. Put a rope around a part of the sidewalk and an umbrella over the table and it's suddenly 'inside' for the purposes of the liquor license act.

You also can't take your drink with you to the bathroom. I have no idea what the reasoning is there.