City Government
No Free Ads For Bronco Boozers
July 30, 2013 
As an indication of how absurd booze laws can be, Boise City Council is considering an ordinance to allow tailgating and drinking within a portion of Julia Davis Park and on certain streets, but only when BSU is playing football. No exceptions for NCAA basketball tournaments, baseball games, or bike racing and with NO LOGOS OR BRANDS DISPLAYED.
The proposed ordinance actually prohibits “POSSESSION OF, OR CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL FROM, OPEN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTAINERS BRANDED OR LABELED BY AN ALCOHOL BEVERAGE MANUFACTURER OR DISTRIBUTOR.”
What about apple juice from a plastic cup with a BUD LITE logo? Can you drink if a can is covered with a “coolie.” What about a COKE with a COORS coolie? Would coppers really write tickets for drinking out of the wrong container?
We are told the back story is a political decision to make the Boise City LAW comply with what has become BSU PRACTICES. That is, to allow drinking on campus as long as the booze is in a cup and not a blatant violation of the no booze policy at the campus. When laws get down to allowing consumption based on the color and printing on a container and not the CONTENTS of the container, those laws tread on the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.
A simple solution would be for the BSU “CEO” to simply issue a waiver of the no booze rule as permitted by Idaho State Board of Education GOVERNING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. IF he does that, it eliminates all hypocrisy and potential challenges to the arbitrary and capricious Boise City Code proposed.
To their credit, Boise coppers want the law so they don’t have to write so many “open container” tickets and make criminal records for decent citizens of the Bronco Nation. Coppers cannot enforce university RULES, and city ordinances don’t apply on university property. Do we really need more laws?
To insure more advertising-free Boise Guardian news, please consider financial support.
Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Jul 30, 2013, 11:06 am
The Federal government, State of Idaho, City of Boise, or Ada County should not be allowed to regulate alcoholic beverages in any way.
Jul 30, 2013, 12:19 pm
I think this is an attempt to please ESPN
Jul 30, 2013, 4:12 pm
This is silly. The law, as any reasonable person who is not fundamentally opposed to the very idea of drinking would tell you, should just permit booze inside the area authorized, except no drinking from glass containers. That makes sense. The idea that the booze must be hidden or in some certain kind of non-branded container is comical. This is a great example of insanity via government regulation.
Jul 30, 2013, 4:15 pm
Incidentally, I have a big plastic mug that is red and has the Old Milwaukee logo. Remember that beer? Anyways, this would be banned. Yet, every kegger’s favorite receptical, the red or blue plastic cup, is okay. Weird. I am laughing.
Jul 30, 2013, 8:57 pm
Bet you a Beer that the City Council never tailgates with the common folk, thus they know not what they speak of!
EDITOR NOTE–Do you think they would ever watch from the “Skybox?” Anyone know if they serve booze in the Skybox?
Jul 30, 2013, 9:39 pm
Totally unenforceable, unless they are serious about it and then they will have to haul people to jail, cite them and clog the courts or simply turn a blind eye to all this baloney.
It almost sounds like something our neighbors in Utah might put together to accommodate the infidels.
Jul 31, 2013, 9:16 am
Booze is served in the Skybox.
The city needs to quit writing laws for these exceptions. Consistency in laws helps people obey them all the time. Maybe the City of Boise should hand out brochures about what you can and can not do in regards to smoking and drinking.
Jul 31, 2013, 10:01 am
Editor:
Will this stupidity get passed? What’s your view?
EDITOR NOTE–It will not only pass, they will eagerly pass it and congratulate all who worked on it. We have no view for or against the booze. We think it absurd to pass a law regarding containers and allowing booze in the Skybox, but not for tailgates and the city trying to craft a law that will satisfy BSU, but not apply on BSU property.
Jul 31, 2013, 10:45 am
Drinking is permitted in the BSU skybox’s, I have watched a few games up there. I never had to put my beer in a solo cup, link below…
And not to get all hippy on everybody but isn’t this all wasteful? Thousands of people taking beer out of a perfectly fine receptacle and putting it in another plastic receptacle? More plastic trash, more waste, more nonsense.
http://www.campusdish.com/NR/rdonlyres/F09CFE19-3538-4BD7-8BD3-CF3E87B21E9A/0/SSCFootballMen.pdf
Jul 31, 2013, 8:07 pm
Lord be praised! They City Council has once again found a way to avoid facing tough issues while appearing to take action on something. Praise the Lord (and pass the alkehaul)
Jul 31, 2013, 8:39 pm
It is definitely a wasteful policy, creating more garbage. Excellent point! It is ironic that a university–a politically correct entity–is linked to it in the sense that the city is saying that the policy is designed to implement a policy that Boise State has followed on its own property. Thus, we have a university needlessly promoting more garbage for our landfills!
Aug 1, 2013, 3:56 pm
Laws work in general because they make sense to the majority of people. They don’t work when you have more than about 2-3% of the people don’t or won’t go along with any given law.
The best example of this is the War on Drugs. We have tens of thousands of people in jails and prisons who are no more criminal than most folks we all know and love. This looks all the world for another stab at making criminals out of what would normally be law abiding folks.
Aug 1, 2013, 8:05 pm
what a dumbazz idea. Make ONE LAW FOR ALL. Exceptions only point out the hypocrisy of your minds. Buckling under to common misconceptions and peer pressure. I am so glad I VOTE.
Aug 1, 2013, 10:51 pm
So if they do not write so many tickets where are they going to make up the lost revenue?
Aug 2, 2013, 7:33 am
Maybe the City and BSU should just both suspend all rules and laws for anything associated with BSU sports. (sarc).