I thought Virginia would be more progressive on drinking.
YouTube – The ABC’s of Virginia Alcohol Law.
Bizarre. Virginia’s ABC bureasaur for Alcohol sounds like the Obama strategy on guns: Just harrass people to make them give up.
Where do we get the idea that there is any libertarian ethos in the US? All I see are little fascisms popping up wherever they can.
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March 24th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Since the US had *total prohibition* of alcohol in the 20s and there is more freedom now, isn’t that an improvement?
IIRC in PA, where we also have the LCB (liquor control board) you can’t buy bottled beer in the same place you buy wine, and neither can be bought in grocery stores. PAs law is schizophrenic, in that the same agency is tasked with selling alcohol and discouraging its use.
March 24th, 2009 at 9:14 am
A Pennsylvania language quirk is that restaurants are not allowed to advertise alcoholic beverages in so many words, similar to Virginia. So if a restaurant wants to communicate in a print ad that they have a liquor license, the usual language adopted is “all legal beverages served.” I’ve always had a silly desire to go into a classy restaurant, ask for a Grape Nehi, and complain about false advertising: “But your ad says ALL legal beverages! How about a Yoo-hoo, then?”
Paul, Wegmans supermarkets just managed to wangle an exception so that they can sell beer in their stores — but it has to be purchased at a separate checkout, and there’s a low limit on how many six packs you can buy at a time. Also, they don’t seem to be allowed to say anything about it on their website. But otherwise, you’re right, beer is sold in separate stores from wine and liquor, and with the exception of Wegmans and other stores that might follow suit if they have the space, you can only buy beer by the case at a beer distributor, or by the glass or six pack at a bar, and never the twain shall meet.
March 24th, 2009 at 9:16 am
And these laws probably have been in place since prohibition has been repealed, so Paul has a point — in this case at least, the trend is either static or improving (if you take the really long view), not increasing in restriction. Of course there are other matters that make Mark’s point better.