We previously saw the case of a professor who had his child taken away from him (and was barred from his own home) because his son mistakenly picked up a hard lemonade drink rather than just lemonade. By that measure, John Coulter is lucky. He was just threatened with arrest and kicked out of an Arizona Cardinals game after he asked his son to hold his beer while he took a picture.
Coulter was at the preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys when he decided to take a picture. He landed his beer to his 15 -year-old son and was taking the picture when two undercover officers with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control nabbed him. They told him that he just supplied beer to an underaged boy. While Coulter pointed out that he was just taking a picture, it was not enough.
Sgt. Wesley Kuhl of the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control says that, if anything, the department was lenient with him: “Providing alcohol to an underage person or an underage person in possession of alcohol is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The consequences could be up to, and this is a maximum, of two years in jail, $2,500 fine and three years probation.” But he didn’t provide beer to his 15 year old son anymore than handing him the keys to the car to hold is the same as allowing him to drive. His son held a cup while his Dad took a picture. It is pretty clear that the Department of Liquor License and Control does not have enough to do if this is their concept of a righteous bust.
I realize that there is underage drinking at games, particularly with teenagers around this age. However, what happened to a simple warning? If the boy was drinking the beer, it is pretty obvious that they would arrest them. Worse yet, Coulter (a season ticket holder) was not able to see the Cardinals beats the Cowboys.
Source: USA Today
Would this have happened if the father/son had been in a suite? Do the beer cops have people stationed in each one? Just curious, though I know the answer, as do the rest of you
HOMER SIMPSON FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF CUCKOO-LAND!
BUSH -CLINTON – OBAMA = THE 3 STOOGES
YOU CAN EXPECT ANYTHING FROM A COUNTRY THAT WOULD ELECT THESE PRICKS AS THEIR PRESIDENT.
It’s ironic to think that the once free US is now a borderline police state, while the good people of Germany, under Nazi rule just 75 years ago, are allowed to interact normanlly with their children at football games without fear of arrest and persecution. The US needs to wake the hell up before it’s like East Berlin 1955.
I would file a 1983 (Title 42, United States Code, Section 1983) lawsuit against those overzealous a-holes.
Oxa, You don’t understand libertarianism, or Wi. The core of libertarianism is you have the right to do as you want AS LONG AS IT DOESN’T HARM OTHERS. I support cannabis legalization. I think it will require some restraints, but not nearly the control required for alcohol. Alcohol is a leading cause of violence in this country, and a leading cause of death on the highways. No libertarian would advocate uncontrolled alcohol, just reasonable ones.
Maddog the funny thing about your post is that the Original London Bridge IS IN ARIZONA…
“London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States, that is the relocated 1831 London Bridge that spanned the River Thames in London, England until it was dismantled in 1967”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_%28Lake_Havasu_City%29
nick spinelli – “alcoholic state” – That’s your opinion. “Libertarian with respect to alcohol” is more apt.
Robin
You are right about that. I had only in my past career arrested around 3 persons for DUI/DWI for marijuana but over a hundred times that for alcohol. As far as violence goes alcohol was involved in well over 50% of the arrests and I think I only had maybe less than 5 arrests for violent crimes where the offender was under the influence of mary jane.
hey look at it this way. alcohol is legal. while marijuana is not. and yet crimes ,murder, robbery etc get committed more by those drinking alcohol then marijuana. what part of this are we all really missing?
Pete,
The football Cardinals are in Arizona. The baseball team is still in St. Louis.
the saint louis cardinals are in arizona now?
Sgt. Wesley Kuhl of the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control is a cretinous thug.
The tax-feeding parasites at the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control clearly have way too much idle time on their hands.
nick,
I agree that Willie Mays was the best all around player that I have ever seen. Mickey Mantle, before his knees went, would be a close second.
In Utah liquor agents go to restaurants and try to order a drink before ordering food, and then bust the server and restaurant if they succeed. What I don’t understand is why this “service” of saving us from the evils of alcohol has not been privatized.
AY, Come on now!
When I was in Porto, Portugal, I saw several beer vending machines out on the sidewalk, just like here for pop machines. It was no big deal to those folks.
These officers should have used a little discretion. If the parent was out in the desert and handed the boy a .338 Lapua sniper rifle, he took a shot, and handed it back it would have been totally legal.
Sometimes these special details result in this fixation on zero tolerance enforcement and couple that with limited authority officers and you get wild hair type policing.