Posted on 06/26/2004 7:05:33 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Even beer kegs soon must have ID
By ARCENIA HARMON of the Tribune’s staff
Published Saturday, June 26, 2004
After this weekend, the police will have one more weapon to convict those who give alcohol to minors.
Starting Thursday, Missouri stores will be required to register and keep limited personal information about everyone who gets a keg of beer.
"It’s a good idea," said Steve Shimmens, enforcement chief for the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. When liquor-control officers "go to a field party and there’s a keg out there and no one is going to claim it … you’ll be able to trace the number of the keg back to the store that sold it, and they’re required to tell who bought it."
Kegs of beer are sold by some retail outlets that require consumers to return the aluminum kegs for a deposit.
The law requires an identification tag on every keg that holds four gallons or more of beer sold for off-premises consumption. The tag must include a number that can be traced back to the store that sold it.
Every retailer also will have to fill out a keg identification form that includes the date of sale, keg size, keg identification number, amount of the deposit and form of identification used by the buyer. It also requires the buyer’s name, address and date of birth.
Under the new law, the store must keep the keg identification form and tag together for a least three months after a sale. Retailers will not be required to return the deposit, which can be up to $100, for a keg returned without the tag.
The state is providing the tags and identification forms. Money for these items comes from the state’s general revenue.
Retailers who violate the law could be subject to fines or suspension of their liquor licenses, but Shimmens said he doesn’t think enforcement will be a problem.
"Most of the retailers are currently doing this work," he said. "The only new thing is putting the tag on it."
Regeb Mavrakis, co-owner of Southside Liquors in Columbia, said his store already asks to see a Missouri driver’s license from customers getting kegs of beer. For the past two years, the store clerks have been taking down the name, address and phone number of anyone who buys a keg.
"We’re not going to change our operation because we already have the system in place," Mavrakis said. "It’s just normal procedure."
Shimmens said that so far, retailers have ordered 13,000 of the 200,000 tags the state has prepared.
"The response has been a lot greater than we thought," Shimmens said. "I didn’t know that many kegs were sold statewide."
The Missouri General Assembly passed the legislation in May 2003.
Prohibition is making a comeback.
Land of the Free :-/
The next logical step is to require the purchaser of the keg to maintain a log showing the identity of each person who got a cup of beer from the keg.
Is it true that one can be arrested for walking around a USA street with an open can of beer , or quaffing a brew in a park ?
I'm beginning to wonder if there is a government bee anywhere that doesn't think "More government control?? Sounds like a good idea!!!"
Depends on the municipality.
Definitely. Some cities have very strict ordinances against this. I happen to live in one.
May I ask what you think about this law ?
Puts a whole new light on bumper stickers.
They usually wait until you puke and fall over.
Your papers, please.
Welcome to the new gulag.
In Japan , one can walk down any street with a can of beer or sake ( sa-kay ) without a worry . One can have a picnic in the park or wherever without a care . But DON'T get caught with a hint of alcohol on your breath while operating a motor vehicle . VERY strict .
As a rule laws are made to eliminate thinking.
I used to work in a large liquor store that sold kegs. Alcohol control regulations tightened down on us too. We were under threat of prosecution if minors were drinking out of the kegs, so we had to make a photocopy of the driver's license of every person who bought a keg, along with verifying the age of every person accompanying the buyer. It was just a huge pain in the ass, and got me a lot of threats from punks to whom I had to refuse a sale.
Thanks for making me do your job, Nanny State.
And those 'born on' dates! Maybe they're just worried about us older guys hanging out with underage beer!
Is it true that one can be arrested for walking around a USA street with an open can of beer , or quaffing a brew in a park ?It's called "open container". When I'm working at the bar I have to make sure people don't inadverently (or advertently, as the case may be) wander outside with an open beer.
Even tailgating before football games is being cracked down upon in some cities. It's a coalition effort between the in-stadium vendors (who charge a fortune), the yuppie-type fans, and the neo-Prohibitionists.
-Eric
In Japan , one can walk down any street with a can of beer or sake ( sa-kay ) without a worry . One can have a picnic in the park or wherever without a care . But DON'T get caught with a hint of alcohol on your breath while operating a motor vehicle . VERY strict .In Ohio, you can be technically charged with "driving while intoxicated" while walking on the sidewalk. The penalties for DWI are of course much harsher than mere public intox. Most police departments recognize this as idiotic and don't do it...but some will threaten to.
-Eric
The effect? Half the businesses in town went out of business and Radford U. is now a joke and has been a joke for 10 years. Educationally and socially. VA Tech has completely overshadowed Radford in every way. Tech students used to actually come to Radford for a good time. After the "keg law", no way.
When beer is outlawed, only outlaws will have beer and good times.
In Virginia, you cant drink a beer in your front yard without getting a ticket. Back yard or drive way or porch either, for that matter. As long as you are in "public view", you can be fined. I dont know about arrested, though. My uncle got busted for drinking a beer in his front yard a few years ago.
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