When can you buy wine on Sunday? – Wine can be bought at grocery stores or other retailers starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and have until midnight to do so. Before HB 1518, consumers had to wait until noon on Sunday to purchase wine. A wine-only package (liquor) store that holds a beer license can not sell wine containing more than 17% alcohol by volume on Sunday. Despite changes in Texas law on when beer and wine can be sold, liquor is still not allowed to be sold on Sunday at liquor stores. Ryan C. Hermens [email protected]
Contents
- 1 What time can you buy alcohol in Texas on a Sunday?
- 2 Can you buy beer before 7am in Texas?
- 3 How early can I buy beer in Texas?
- 4 What is the new alcohol law in Texas?
- 5 Can you return alcohol in Texas?
- 6 Can you buy beer at 3am in Texas?
- 7 Why can’t Texas grocery stores sell liquor?
- 8 Is Waco a dry county?
- 9 Can you buy beer on Christmas Day in Texas?
- 10 Can you buy beer on Thanksgiving in Texas?
- 11 Can you buy alcohol on Sunday in UK?
What time can you buy alcohol in Texas on a Sunday?
AUSTIN, Texas – Two bills filed in the Texas House and Senate last month could expand alcohol sales on Sundays. Senate Bill 1288 and House Bill 2200, filed by State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-Fort Worth) and State Rep. Justin Holland (R-Rockwall) would amend the Alcoholic Beverage Code to change the definition of “liquor” under Texas law, so “spirit coolers” would not be included. (Photo by Gado/Getty Images) Canned cocktails have grown in popularity over the last few years, but under Texas law grocery stores and convenience stores are currently only allowed to sell beer and wine on Sunday. “As industries innovate and new products become staples in the marketplace, it only makes sense for us to take a look at ways government can reduce regulatory red tape,” said Sen.
Hancock in a statement to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “I look forward to continuing to work on legislation that keeps free market principles at the core of Texas’ economic success.” A recent survey from the Distilled Spirits Council showed 86 percent of people believed the cocktails should be sold when other ready-to-drink beverages are available for purchase.
If passed, it would be another step in loosening Texas’s alcohol sales laws. In 2021, state leaders allowed beer and wine sales before noon on Sundays. They also voted to allow restaurants to continue allowing to-go cocktails after they were approved during the pandemic.
What time does Texas start selling beer Sunday?
Where Can You Buy Beer In Texas? – Aside from the local brewery, you can buy beer in Texas at various liquor stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. But you may find straight liquor the hardest to get hold of. Basically, the only place you can buy whiskey, vodka, or any other kind of liquor is at a liquor store.
Can you buy beer before 7am in Texas?
No more waiting until noon on Sundays to buy alcohol in Texas TEXAS — Rise and shine. Sunday brunch just got a little boozier a little earlier. House Bill 1518, which goes into effect Wednesday, expands the hours of alcohol sales in Texas. This expansion applies to grocery stores and convenience stores, where beer and wine can now be sold from 7 a.m.
To midnight Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday. Liquor cannot be sold or delivered on Sundays, before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m. on any other day, or on New Year’s, Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. Under HB 1518, hotel bars are allowed to serve alcohol to registered guests at any time.
: No more waiting until noon on Sundays to buy alcohol in Texas
Can you order alcohol on Sunday morning in Texas?
Sunday beer and wine sales in Texas, what you need to know You can now buy beer and wine at 10 a.m. on Sundays in grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations in Texas. Talia Herman Cheers, Texas. For more than 15 months, you’ve been at stores starting at 10 a.m. on Sundays. And still, after years not being able to, some people don’t know or forget.
So here’s a reminder what you need to know about buying beer or wine on Sunday. What time can I buy beer on Sunday? Can I also buy liquor on Sunday? Can I buy booze at hotels anytime I want? Do these new rules apply to other days of the week?
Retailers can start selling beer and wine at 10 a.m. Previously, you had to wait until noon. No. The state’s new rules do not make changes to liquor sales. In Texas, you can buy spirits until 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. You can’t purchase liquor on Sunday.
Why can’t you buy alcohol on Sunday in Texas?
Update: Updated at 4:05 p.m. March 9 with a statement from a group opposing the bills. A couple of Texas lawmakers want to end the state’s ban on Sunday liquor sales. State Sen. Kelly Hancock, who represents Fort Worth, has filed a bill to allow grocery and convenience stores to sell ready-to-drink cocktails seven days a week.
Rep. Justin Holland, of Rockwall, filed a similar bill in the Texas House last month. Under current Texas law, ready-to-drink cocktails made with vodka, tequila and other spirits are sold in liquor stores, which must close on Sundays. Grocery and convenience stores are permitted to sell only beer and wine on Sundays.
But Hancock said he wants to continue to keep “free market principles at the core of Texas’ economic success.” Political Points Get the latest politics news from North Texas and beyond. “As industries innovate and new products become staples in the marketplace, it only makes sense for us to take a look at ways government can reduce regulatory red tape,” Hancock said in a statement from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
- Hancock did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday or say whether he would support allowing liquor stores to open Sundays.
- Related: Here’s how it’s going since Texas lifted a ban on Sunday morning beer and wine sales Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, a trade association which opposes the bills, said this would allow children as young as 16 to sell hard liquor.
Currently, the minimum age to sell liquor is 21. “There is no great consumer demand to make this drastic change to Texas liquor law,” President Tom Spilman said in an email. The bills come two years after Texas moved to considerably loosen restrictions on alcohol sales.
State leaders changed the law to allow restaurants to sell to-go drinks and permit beer and wine sales on Sunday mornings, Before that, sales were prohibited before noon. Texas has restricted liquor sales on Sundays since 1935 when the Texas Liquor Control Act was passed in response to the repeal of Prohibition.
Bills to allow liquor stores to open on Sundays failed in the past. But the rise in ready-to-drink cocktails might help soften the ban. Drinks like canned Ranch Waters from Dallas-based RancH2O and whiskey-based cocktails from Fort Worth’s TX Whiskey distillery have helped drive the surge.
Pre-mixed cocktails generated $1.6 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2021, up more than 40% from the previous year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council, a trade association representing producers and marketers. By 2025, canned cocktails are predicted to account for 8% of all alcohol sales, doubling the share since 2020, according to International Wines and Spirits Record, which analyzes alcohol sales.
“States all across the U.S. are taking a look at beverage laws to ensure consumers of these products are being treated fairly, and Texas consumers should not get left behind,” Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, said in a statement.
How early can I buy beer in Texas?
What Time Can You Be Served Alcohol in Texas? – Alcohol sales hours are different if you’re being served for consumption on-premises, as you would at a bar or restaurant. For on-premises consumption, the rules are the same whether you’re buying beer, wine, liquor, or mixed drinks.
Sunday start times at bars or restaurants depend on whether you’re ordering food as well – if you are, you can be served at 10 am. If not, you can’t be done either until noon. Alcohol service can begin at 10 am on Sunday during live events at sports venues, festivals, fairs, or concerts, whether food is served. Certain bars or restaurants in the state can serve until 2 am any night of the week with a “late hours” permit. Hotel bars can serve registered guests at any time of day.
Wineries, which are usually a mix of on- and off-premises sales, can operate from 8 am to midnight every day but Sunday, when their hours are 10 am to midnight. Due to COVID-19, on-premises licensees can offer alcohol pickup and delivery for the moment under certain conditions,
What is the blue law in Texas?
This story is from Texas Monthly ‘s archives. We have left it as it was originally published, without updating, to maintain a clear historical record. Read more here about our archive digitization project. S urely it has happened to you before. You’re out cruising around on a Sunday afternoon and suddenly you have this desperate need for,
Socks. Or maybe you need something like a pie tin or a toggle bolt or a chain saw. You squeal to the nearest hardware or grocery store, pick out what you need, and head for the express lane. “I’m sorry, sir. Selling a chain saw on Sunday is against the law. Could I interest you in one of our nicer handsaws? Those are legal.” The Texas blue law has struck again.
Blue laws—supposedly named for the color of the paper on which they were once printed—prohibit certain activities and the sale of certain items on Sunday; about half the states have them. As you might expect, liquor is a popular target of such laws, but Texas forbids the sale of 42 other categories of merchandise.
That illogical and incomprehensible list makes it a crime to sell china plates but not paper ones, screws but not screwdrivers, linoleum but not wallpaper, baby bottles but not beer. Blue laws date back to Roman times, when the empire sought a day of rest and reflection for its citizens. The impetus was purely religious then, as it was in the seventeenth century, when most American colonies outlawed everything on Sunday except church.
The first Texas blue law, prohibiting working, drinking, horse racing, gambling, and other heathen practices, went into effect in 1863. Since then our blue law has become the state’s most celebrated statutory dinosaur. Texans tend to think that this bit of nonsense is still around because of pressure from Christian leaders, but the Great Houston Blue-Law Squad Controversy exposed the modern culprits behind the madness.
In early 1961 Houston mayor Lewis Cutrer ordered his police department to create the blue-law squad, a kind of Sunday SWAT team to crack down on retailers who were violating the blue law. You would think that the Retail Merchants Association of Houston—the very folks most harmed by the law—would have opposed the good mayor’s efforts.
But no-o-o-o. The retailers asserted that in states that had repealed blue laws, Sunday selling had increased overhead by as much as 10 per cent with no commensurate increase in sales. The merchants figured that strict enforcement of the law might diminish competitive selling on Sunday, particularly from national, big-volume giants like Gibson’s.
- But they didn’t stop with a few blue-law arrests.
- Later that year, the merchants pushed an even stricter and more comprehensive law through the Legislature.
- Article 9001—the one still on the books—makes it illegal to sell everything from cars to curtains on consecutive Saturdays and Sundays.
- In its own way, the law is a charming relic.
While blue laws in many other states simply tell stores to shut down, Texas’ law says “Open if you please and sell all the peanut butter you want, but sell a package of screws and you can go to the joint.” That particular idiosyncrasy may owe its existence to the endless revisions the blue law has undergone.
- But it is mainly the handiwork of the five-thousand-member Texas Retailers Association, which squired the measure through the Legislature and now spends 20 per cent of its lobbying time each session making sure the law isn’t repealed.
- All you have to do to see whose interests are at stake is peruse the list of items in the statute: they are invariably things sold by retailers who don’t want to open on Sunday.
In other words, a local department store owner doesn’t really care how much toothpaste Tom Thumb sells on Sunday, but he does care if it is selling dinner plates and men’s shirts. Since 1961 the law has survived biennial assaults in the Legislature, has been dragged to the Texas Supreme Court by the Gibson’s chain, and weathered a lot of complaints from unhappy Texas consumers, 70 per cent of whom oppose the law.
- The law will doubtless be challenged again in the next legislative session; if the blue law itself is a time-honored tradition, so are the efforts to repeal it.
- But don’t hold your breath.
- Silly laws die hard in Texas—especially silly laws that keep the economic pie divided up just the way it is.
- So the next time you can’t buy a pair of panty hose on Sunday, don’t go blaming Reverend Criswell.
Blame it on the retailers who are taking the day off.
What is the new alcohol law in Texas?
Need alcohol for the holidays? Shop early because of this Texas law. When and why alcohol is banned in Texas Texas is one of many states to have a liquor ban. Here’s what you need to know to get your holiday booze. Planning a big holiday party with family and friends this Christmas or New Year’s Day? Be sure to shop early for your alcohol and liquor.
A bans the sale and serving of any liquor on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Sundays. Texas is one of 24 states to have a liquor ban. In addition, if any of those holidays falls on a Sunday, sales are also banned the following Monday. Wine and beer, however, may be sold at grocery stores and other retailers on holidays, though they can’t be bought before 10 a.m.
on Sundays. (Customers had to wait until noon on Sundays until the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1518 to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Code in 2021.) When the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealed Prohibition in 1933, states took charge of regulating the alcoholic beverage industry.
The Texas Legislature passed the Texas Liquor Control Act, creating the Texas Liquor Control Board in 1935. The agency was renamed the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in 1970 and the Liquor Control Act was updated in 1977, becoming the Alcoholic Beverage Code. Legislators added Christmas Day to the ban in 1967 and added Thanksgiving and New Year’s in 1979.
So if you’re in charge of drinks and wait until the last minute, you might be left empty-handed. Randy Perales, owner of Bottle Shop in Corpus Christi, said he always reminds his customers to purchase alcohol before the holidays. “The biggest issue is people come in from out of state and don’t know the laws,” Perales said.
- For the most part, most people who drink regularly here in Texas know the rules.” While business doubles or triples around the winter holidays, Perales said it hurts him financially still when he has to be closed an extra day.
- If I would’ve been able to stay open on Thanksgiving, I would’ve, and I would’ve made a lot of money,” Perales said.
“And now with Christmas and New Year’s Day on a Sunday, we’re going to be closed those Mondays also. But it is what it is.”
Can you return alcohol in Texas?
In accordance with §104.05(d), alcoholic beverages may be replaced with like product, provided the product was damaged upon or prior to delivery or was unfit for consumption upon delivery, or is determined to be a consumer safety issue caused during the manufacturing process.
Can you buy beer at 3am in Texas?
Buying beer on a weekday – Whether you plan to get beer at an on-premise location such as a bar or restaurant, or at an off-premise location like a grocery or convenience store, the general statewide laws for alcohol sales on weekdays are the same. Beer is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.
to midnight. Many bars, however, are able to obtain an additional late hours permit. This allows them to continue selling alcohol until 2 a.m. on any day of the week. The ability of an establishment to obtain this permit depends on whether or not it is located in a city, town or county where the late-hours sale of alcohol is legal.
This is where it gets tricky. Sale of beer at both on-premise and off-premise locations is permitted on Saturday from 7 a.m. until 1 a.m. the following morning, except at bars and restaurants with the aforementioned late hours permit that allows them to continue serving alcohol until 2 a.m.
Can you buy beer early on Sunday in Texas?
When can you buy wine on Sunday? – Wine can be bought at grocery stores or other retailers starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and have until midnight to do so. Before HB 1518, consumers had to wait until noon on Sunday to purchase wine. A wine-only package (liquor) store that holds a beer license can not sell wine containing more than 17% alcohol by volume on Sunday. Despite changes in Texas law on when beer and wine can be sold, liquor is still not allowed to be sold on Sunday at liquor stores. Ryan C. Hermens [email protected]
Can you drink with a parent at a bar in Texas?
In Texas, a minor may consume an alcoholic beverage if it is in the visible presence of the minor’s adult parent, guardian or spouse.
Why can’t Texas grocery stores sell liquor?
Battle in the Texas legislature over which alcoholic beverages can be sold in grocery stores AUSTIN (KXAN) – A new Texas bill, if passed, would allow convenience stores and grocery stores to sell popular spirit-based ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails and seltzers.
- Under current laws in Texas, these beverages are permitted only to be sold in liquor stores.
- Current state law states alcohol products can be sold in grocery and convenience stores if they are under 17% alcohol by volume (ABV), but anything containing a spirit cannot be sold at those locations.
- That means beer, wine and malt beverages may be sold at these stores, but some popular ready-to-drink cocktails – such as High Noon hard seltzer which contains 4.5% ABV – may not.
” come to our stores and just don’t understand why they can’t buy this particular spirit-based product when it’s the same or less alcohol by volume. And again, we can legally sell up to 17% right now,” said Paul Hardin, CEO of the Texas Food and Fuel Association.
- There are currently around 3,200 liquor stores in Texas.
- If HB2200, filed by Texas Rep.
- Justin Holland (R- Rockwall), passes, the distribution channel will open up to around 30,000 outlets, Hardin said.
- We’re doing is trying to change the logic for consumer choice, market freedom and distribution,” Hardin said.
“Alcohol is alcohol is alcohol, and we just don’t see why we can’t sell spirit-based RTDs in convenience stores and grocery stores in Texas,” he continued. Premixed cocktails or seltzers have grown in popularity in recent years. The drinks were the fastest-growing spirit category in 2022 in terms of revenue – up 35.8% in 2022, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.
- It’s a positive fiscal note for the state of Texas of about $160 million over the biennium,” Hardin said.
- Currently, 25 states allow spirit-based premixed cocktails in grocery stores and convenience stores alongside beer and wine.
- Texas is usually the leader when it comes to market freedom,” Hardin said.
“We’re sorely lagging behind in this particular area.” Hardin said there are several businesses he is aware of that want to get these types of products on shelves but don’t want to release them until legislation like this passes. “This will pass in the state of Texas, whether it’s this session or next,” he continued.
Is Waco a dry county?
The term “Prohibition” conjures up a variety of images including flappers, speakeasies, moonshiners, bootleggers, and extravagant parties. However, it is important to remember that the 18 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol was not a moment in time, rather, the end of a long-waged campaign, one that often had local roots.
Beginning in the 19 th century, the Temperance Movement was an effort to combat the consumption of alcohol in the United States. The concept of temperance often found fertile soil among religious groups, particularly women. The original focus of the movement was on moderation and the individual person.
However, by the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the focus had shifted to complete abstinence from alcohol (known as “teetotaling”) and an emphasis on the legal prohibition of alcohol throughout society. As Prohibition gained more support, reformers, known as “drys,” sought to implement local options on city and county levels.
Initially met with great resistance, the push towards Prohibition ultimately gained significant traction. Society’s gradual shift towards accepting Prohibition can be seen in the history of McLennan County. From 1885 to 1917, there were at least five elections regarding prohibition in the county. The Day, a Waco newspaper, reported on September 1, 1885 that Prohibition had failed with 3,681 votes against and only 1,733 in favor.
Thirty-two years later, on October 24, 1917, the Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune announced that Prohibitionists had finally triumphed in an election by 1,273 votes. This newspaper article also examined the past four local option elections, starting in 1895. Over the 22-year period, it is evident that Prohibitionists were slowly gaining ground.
As a result of the reformers’ perseverance, McLennan County went dry on December 1, 1917. When considering these election results, it is important to remember that only white males over the age of 21 could vote at this time. Although African American men could theoretically vote due to the 15th Amendment (1870), they were, in reality, disenfranchised by various means including poll taxes, literacy tests, intimidation, and violence.
Women were also prohibited from voting. The 1920 U.S. Census reported a population of almost 83,000 people. Taking into account the voting restrictions addressed above, a vote by an estimated 11% of the population caused McLennan County to transition to a dry county.
- While the major focus of the Prohibitionists’ efforts tended to be on the county level, advocates were also working on the state and federal levels.
- An article in the Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune dated July 26, 1911 referenced the current state-level prohibition election as well as a similar election held in 1887.
In 1907, the Baskin-McGregor Act was passed by the Texas Legislature. This law “defined licensing procedures and prescribed operating hours and conditions” for a wide array of activities and actively prohibited
prostitutes or lewd women; any woman from entering or remaining in bars; any vulgar or obscene pictures; keeping or using any piano, organ, or other musical instrument; any boxing, wrestling, or sparring; and any games such as billiards tables, card, dominoes, etc.
Ultimately, Prohibition became the law of the land when the 18 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on January 26, 1919. The law went into effect a year later. The state of Texas also passed a state constitutional amendment in favor of Prohibition in 1919. A pamphlet of songs for Prohibition that was printed in Waco, Texas. Texas Prohibition Songs. Circa 1900-1935. Texas RBT HV5090.T4 T49 1900z, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
The results of Prohibition elections from 1895 to 1917. “Pros Win County by 1,273 Majority,” Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune, October 24, 1917, Vol. XXIII No.43 ed., The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
A map of Texas that depicts wet and dry counties in the state. Prohibition Map of Texas. Circa 1908. Drawer 27, Folder 1 (31263030918335), The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
The Prohibition Amendment to the Texas State Constitution. The Dean Law and the Prohibition Amendment to the Texas Constitution by R.V. Nichols and L.C. Sutton. Austin, 1919. Texas HV5090.T4 N5 1919, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. The Day (Waco, Texas), September 1, 1885, Vol.2 No.240 ed., accessed July 21, 2020, https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/the-day-waco-texas-vol.-2-no.-240-tuesday-september-1-1885/482322,
“Pros Win County by 1,273 Majority,” Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune, October 24, 1917, Vol. XXIII No.43 ed., accessed July 21, 2020, https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/waco-semi-weekly-tribune-waco-texas-vol.-23-no.-42-wednesday-october-24-1917/581383, United States, Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population 1920: Number and Distribution of Inhabitants, (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1921), page 637, accessed July 21, 2020, https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1920/volume-1/41084484v1ch5.pdf,
“The Battle of Ballots Over,” Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune, July 26, 1911, Vol. XVII No.17 ed., accessed July 21, 2020, https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/waco-semi-weekly-tribune-waco-texas-vol.-17-no.-17-wednesday-july-26-1911/568271,
Motl, Kevin C. “Under the Influence: The Texas Business Men’s Association and the Campaign against Reform, 1906-1915.” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 109, no.4 (2006): 494-529. Accessed July 21, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/30242333. Texas, State Senate, Journal of the Regular Session of the Thirtieth Legislature (1907), page 954; 963, accessed July 21, 2020, https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/Senatejournals/30/S_30_0.pdf,
Handbook of Texas Online, K. Austin Kerr, “Prohibition,” accessed July 21, 2020, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vap01,
Can you buy beer on Christmas Day in Texas?
The law prohibits liquor stores from being open on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Can you buy beer on Thanksgiving in Texas?
Can You Buy Liquor On Easter in Texas? – There’s no law that specifically says you can’t buy liquor on Easter, but liquor sales are prohibited under Sunday Texas alcohol laws. Easter always falls on a Sunday, so the ban applies. Liquor sales are also prohibited on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Can you buy beer at 12 in Texas?
Sales of alcohol – Beer and wine can be sold from 7:00 AM until midnight Monday through Friday, from 7:00 AM until 1:00 AM on Saturday, and from 10am until midnight on Sunday. Licensed restaurants, bars, and other establishments can additionally serve for consumption on-premises starting at 10:00 AM on Sunday if served with food, and until 2:00 AM every night if the establishment has a late-hours permit in a city or county that allows late-hours sales.
- Liquor sales are more stringently regulated.
- Liquor sales are prohibited 1) on Sundays, 2) on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day (and when Christmas and New Year’s fall on a Sunday, the prohibition is carried over to the following Monday), and 3) before 10AM and after 9PM on any other day.
Furthermore, liquor can only be sold in “package stores”, which must be closed whenever liquor sales are prohibited (even for sales of otherwise allowable products), and which further must be physically separated from any other business. Moreover, no owner can own more than 250 package stores, and no publicly traded company can own such a store.
Can a 20 year old buy beer in Texas?
Texas state law does not require a person over 21 to present an ID to buy alcohol in Texas. Nothing in the law declares specific forms of “valid” IDs for alcohol purchases. But since store clerks, wait staff and bartenders can be criminally liable for selling alcohol to a minor, they often require a photo ID issued by a government agency.
Contains a physical description and photograph that appears to match the minor’s appearance.Seems to establish the minor is 21 or older.May be a driver’s license issued by any state, a U.S. passport, a military ID card or any other ID issued by a state or the federal government.
A store, bar or restaurant chooses whether to sell alcohol to a person with an expired driver’s license, a foreign passport or other ID. What’s acceptable is a matter of that establishment’s private business policies. If the customer is obviously over 21, the establishment may not require any ID.
Some retailers in Texas have policies requiring that customers provide proof of age for all alcoholic beverage purchases, regardless of their age. Some will only accept a Texas driver’s license or Texas ID card as “valid identification.” Some insist that everyone in a group show proof that they are 21 or older when anyone in the group is attempting to purchase alcoholic beverages. This is an attempt to prevent adults from illegally providing alcohol to minors.
Can you buy alcohol on Sunday in UK?
When can supermarkets sell alcohol? – In England and Wales, most supermarkets have a licence to sell alcohol whenever they are open, That means you can purchase it as soon as they open in the morning, and all through the night if the supermarket is 24-hour.
What is the blue law in Texas?
Texas Primer: The Blue Law This story is from Texas Monthly ‘s archives. We have left it as it was originally published, without updating, to maintain a clear historical record. about our archive digitization project. S urely it has happened to you before.
- You’re out cruising around on a Sunday afternoon and suddenly you have this desperate need for, socks.
- Or maybe you need something like a pie tin or a toggle bolt or a chain saw.
- You squeal to the nearest hardware or grocery store, pick out what you need, and head for the express lane.
- I’m sorry, sir.
Selling a chain saw on Sunday is against the law. Could I interest you in one of our nicer handsaws? Those are legal.” The Texas blue law has struck again. Blue laws—supposedly named for the color of the paper on which they were once printed—prohibit certain activities and the sale of certain items on Sunday; about half the states have them.
As you might expect, liquor is a popular target of such laws, but Texas forbids the sale of 42 other categories of merchandise. That illogical and incomprehensible list makes it a crime to sell china plates but not paper ones, screws but not screwdrivers, linoleum but not wallpaper, baby bottles but not beer.
Blue laws date back to Roman times, when the empire sought a day of rest and reflection for its citizens. The impetus was purely religious then, as it was in the seventeenth century, when most American colonies outlawed everything on Sunday except church.
- The first Texas blue law, prohibiting working, drinking, horse racing, gambling, and other heathen practices, went into effect in 1863.
- Since then our blue law has become the state’s most celebrated statutory dinosaur.
- Texans tend to think that this bit of nonsense is still around because of pressure from Christian leaders, but the Great Houston Blue-Law Squad Controversy exposed the modern culprits behind the madness.
In early 1961 Houston mayor Lewis Cutrer ordered his police department to create the blue-law squad, a kind of Sunday SWAT team to crack down on retailers who were violating the blue law. You would think that the Retail Merchants Association of Houston—the very folks most harmed by the law—would have opposed the good mayor’s efforts.
But no-o-o-o. The retailers asserted that in states that had repealed blue laws, Sunday selling had increased overhead by as much as 10 per cent with no commensurate increase in sales. The merchants figured that strict enforcement of the law might diminish competitive selling on Sunday, particularly from national, big-volume giants like Gibson’s.
But they didn’t stop with a few blue-law arrests. Later that year, the merchants pushed an even stricter and more comprehensive law through the Legislature. Article 9001—the one still on the books—makes it illegal to sell everything from cars to curtains on consecutive Saturdays and Sundays.
In its own way, the law is a charming relic. While blue laws in many other states simply tell stores to shut down, Texas’ law says “Open if you please and sell all the peanut butter you want, but sell a package of screws and you can go to the joint.” That particular idiosyncrasy may owe its existence to the endless revisions the blue law has undergone.
But it is mainly the handiwork of the five-thousand-member Texas Retailers Association, which squired the measure through the Legislature and now spends 20 per cent of its lobbying time each session making sure the law isn’t repealed. All you have to do to see whose interests are at stake is peruse the list of items in the statute: they are invariably things sold by retailers who don’t want to open on Sunday.
- In other words, a local department store owner doesn’t really care how much toothpaste Tom Thumb sells on Sunday, but he does care if it is selling dinner plates and men’s shirts.
- Since 1961 the law has survived biennial assaults in the Legislature, has been dragged to the Texas Supreme Court by the Gibson’s chain, and weathered a lot of complaints from unhappy Texas consumers, 70 per cent of whom oppose the law.
The law will doubtless be challenged again in the next legislative session; if the blue law itself is a time-honored tradition, so are the efforts to repeal it. But don’t hold your breath. Silly laws die hard in Texas—especially silly laws that keep the economic pie divided up just the way it is.
Can you drink with a parent at a bar in Texas?
In Texas, a minor may consume an alcoholic beverage if it is in the visible presence of the minor’s adult parent, guardian or spouse.
Can you buy alcohol on Sunday in UK?
When can supermarkets sell alcohol? – In England and Wales, most supermarkets have a licence to sell alcohol whenever they are open, That means you can purchase it as soon as they open in the morning, and all through the night if the supermarket is 24-hour.
Is Waco a dry county?
The term “Prohibition” conjures up a variety of images including flappers, speakeasies, moonshiners, bootleggers, and extravagant parties. However, it is important to remember that the 18 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol was not a moment in time, rather, the end of a long-waged campaign, one that often had local roots.
- Beginning in the 19 th century, the Temperance Movement was an effort to combat the consumption of alcohol in the United States.
- The concept of temperance often found fertile soil among religious groups, particularly women.
- The original focus of the movement was on moderation and the individual person.
However, by the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the focus had shifted to complete abstinence from alcohol (known as “teetotaling”) and an emphasis on the legal prohibition of alcohol throughout society. As Prohibition gained more support, reformers, known as “drys,” sought to implement local options on city and county levels.
Initially met with great resistance, the push towards Prohibition ultimately gained significant traction. Society’s gradual shift towards accepting Prohibition can be seen in the history of McLennan County. From 1885 to 1917, there were at least five elections regarding prohibition in the county. The Day, a Waco newspaper, reported on September 1, 1885 that Prohibition had failed with 3,681 votes against and only 1,733 in favor.
Thirty-two years later, on October 24, 1917, the Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune announced that Prohibitionists had finally triumphed in an election by 1,273 votes. This newspaper article also examined the past four local option elections, starting in 1895. Over the 22-year period, it is evident that Prohibitionists were slowly gaining ground.
- As a result of the reformers’ perseverance, McLennan County went dry on December 1, 1917.
- When considering these election results, it is important to remember that only white males over the age of 21 could vote at this time.
- Although African American men could theoretically vote due to the 15th Amendment (1870), they were, in reality, disenfranchised by various means including poll taxes, literacy tests, intimidation, and violence.
Women were also prohibited from voting. The 1920 U.S. Census reported a population of almost 83,000 people. Taking into account the voting restrictions addressed above, a vote by an estimated 11% of the population caused McLennan County to transition to a dry county.
While the major focus of the Prohibitionists’ efforts tended to be on the county level, advocates were also working on the state and federal levels. An article in the Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune dated July 26, 1911 referenced the current state-level prohibition election as well as a similar election held in 1887.
In 1907, the Baskin-McGregor Act was passed by the Texas Legislature. This law “defined licensing procedures and prescribed operating hours and conditions” for a wide array of activities and actively prohibited
prostitutes or lewd women; any woman from entering or remaining in bars; any vulgar or obscene pictures; keeping or using any piano, organ, or other musical instrument; any boxing, wrestling, or sparring; and any games such as billiards tables, card, dominoes, etc.
Ultimately, Prohibition became the law of the land when the 18 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on January 26, 1919. The law went into effect a year later. The state of Texas also passed a state constitutional amendment in favor of Prohibition in 1919. A pamphlet of songs for Prohibition that was printed in Waco, Texas. Texas Prohibition Songs. Circa 1900-1935. Texas RBT HV5090.T4 T49 1900z, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
The results of Prohibition elections from 1895 to 1917. “Pros Win County by 1,273 Majority,” Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune, October 24, 1917, Vol. XXIII No.43 ed., The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
A map of Texas that depicts wet and dry counties in the state. Prohibition Map of Texas. Circa 1908. Drawer 27, Folder 1 (31263030918335), The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
The Prohibition Amendment to the Texas State Constitution. The Dean Law and the Prohibition Amendment to the Texas Constitution by R.V. Nichols and L.C. Sutton. Austin, 1919. Texas HV5090.T4 N5 1919, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. The Day (Waco, Texas), September 1, 1885, Vol.2 No.240 ed., accessed July 21, 2020, https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/the-day-waco-texas-vol.-2-no.-240-tuesday-september-1-1885/482322,
- Pros Win County by 1,273 Majority,” Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune, October 24, 1917, Vol.
- XXIII No.43 ed., accessed July 21, 2020, https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/waco-semi-weekly-tribune-waco-texas-vol.-23-no.-42-wednesday-october-24-1917/581383,
- United States, Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population 1920: Number and Distribution of Inhabitants, (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1921), page 637, accessed July 21, 2020, https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1920/volume-1/41084484v1ch5.pdf,
“The Battle of Ballots Over,” Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune, July 26, 1911, Vol. XVII No.17 ed., accessed July 21, 2020, https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/waco-semi-weekly-tribune-waco-texas-vol.-17-no.-17-wednesday-july-26-1911/568271,
- Motl, Kevin C.
- Under the Influence: The Texas Business Men’s Association and the Campaign against Reform, 1906-1915.” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 109, no.4 (2006): 494-529.
- Accessed July 21, 2020.
- Www.jstor.org/stable/30242333.
- Texas, State Senate, Journal of the Regular Session of the Thirtieth Legislature (1907), page 954; 963, accessed July 21, 2020, https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/Senatejournals/30/S_30_0.pdf,
Handbook of Texas Online, K. Austin Kerr, “Prohibition,” accessed July 21, 2020, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vap01,