By Terrence E. Graham
I read, with some dismay, The Forum article, "Bar bill may face last call," (Forum, pg. A1, May 22) and sighed. What business (no pun intended) is it of the state what hours licensed establishments choose to be open to sell a legal substance, alcohol, to legal adults, at any time of the day or night?
As for Gary Peterson, d.b.a. Chumley's, whining about "working until 2 in the morning," here's a clue -- as the owner, you can close at 2 in the afternoon if you wish; the state doesn't mandate that you'd have to stay open until 2 a.m. Duh? Pardon me, but I was under the impression that we lived in an era of "choice."
I, too, operate a licensed liquor establishment. The state mandates that we check every patron's ID, make sure that every patron doesn't drink to excess, and makes us liable for our patrons' behavior after they leave our place. Regardless the time of day or night, our customers can leave our place as sober as the proverbial judge, and get hammered on the road or down the road and the lawyers sue us anyway -- it's called joint and several liability, a truly nonsensical notion if there ever were one.
Twenty years ago, I worked the "graveyard shift" at a machine shop, and it aggravated me that I could only have one cold beer after a hard shift at work before "last call." Talk about discrimination.
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The state sure relishes spending the unfair taxes generated through the sale of alcohol; the sales tax rate imposed on beer and booze is 9 percent, compared with the general sales tax rate of 6.5 percent, so it would be in the best interest of the state to "allow" bars to stay open as long as they see fit.
God knows that dope dealers don't cease operations at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., or even 6 a.m., and dope dealers don't generate one cent of tax revenue or one job. Anybody ever heard of meth-tenders? Cocaine waitresses? Pot bouncers? Heroine janitors? Indeed, dope dealers don't even card their clientele; the younger, the better. The dope dealers sure don't care how much of "the product" their customers consume -- the more the better.
As for any increase in drunk driving, a case could easily be made that the elimination of "last call" and "closing time" may curb the urge of some to overindulge by ordering doubles and pound down shots before the clock says it's time to go home. People who aren't rushed to enjoy a few adult beverages have a tendency to moderate the rate of their consumption.
In this enlightened era of "choice," shouldn't grownups be allowed to choose when, where and if to indulge in a legal substance? In an ideal scenario, we'd all be "allowed" to choose what time of day we'd like to toss down a couple of cold ones. At least in a bar, the barman, by law, has to cut you off when you've had enough, regardless the time of day or night.
Graham, Naytahwaush, Minn., operates a licensed liquor establishment.
