March/April 2010 Issue

The 12 Weirdest Liquor Laws in America

Don’t you dare try to ride a horse under the influence in Colorado, run up a tab in Iowa, or drink a cold beer in Oklahoma.


Texas isn’t the only state with weird liquor laws. All over the country, “blue laws,” originally intended to keep Christian citizens on the straight and narrow, are still on the books. Did we forget one? Tell us about your state or town’s laws in the comments below.

To read about the law in Texas that allows officers to arrest people for public intoxication inside bars, click here.

 

Alabama

No beer bottles bigger than 16 ounces. Wine labels may not be “immodest or sensuous”—one with a naked, bike-riding nymph is banned.

Source: Cycles Gladiator

Alaska

No alcohol sales between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Photo by Flickr user Steffe (Creative Commons)

Arizona

Drive-through liquor stores? No problem.

Photo by Flickr user ahockley (Creative Commons)

Colorado

Illegal to ride a horse under the influence.

Photo by Picasa user David

Florida

Boozing may be prohibited during hurricanes.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Georgia

Public drunkenness is illegal, but drinking in public is fine.

Photo by Flickr user koffiemetkoek (Creative Commons)

Iowa

Sorry, no running tabs.

Photo by Flickr user Simon Crowley (Creative Commons)

Massachusetts

No happy hours allowed.

Photo by Flickr user ell brown (Creative Commons)

New Hampshire

State-run liquor stores conveniently located at highway rest stops.

Photo by Flickr user Fiasco NY (Creative Commons)

Oklahoma

Stores must sell alcoholic drinks at room temperature.

Photo by Flickr user Tambako the Jaguar (Creative Commons)

South Carolina

No liquor sold on election day.

Photo by Flickr user mr adam g (Creative Commons)

Texas

Anyone under 21 can drink if they’re with their parents—or spouse.

Photo by Flickr user cytoon (Creative Commons)

 

 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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