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Lawmakers in Tennessee are really testing the public’s patience after introducing a new bill that would ban the sales of cold beer (refrigerated beer) at retail locations. This is a slap in the face of every freedom-loving Tennessee citizen.
The bill was introduced on January 31st by two Tennessee politicians, Rep. Ron Gant (R-Piperton) and Sen. Paul Rose (R-Covington), and once the public got wind of it the whole world wondered why they’d seek to do something so universally detested.
Well, the bill explains its intended purpose right in the name. Senate Bill 2636 is being called the ‘The Tennessee Prevention of Drunk Driving Act’ and as the name suggests, it’s aim is to reduce DUIs/DWIs in the Volunteer State.
Rep. Ron Gant has already co-sponsored 5 other bills targeted at reducing DUIs in Tennessee and last year, Senator Paul Rose sponsored a bill which “aimed to lower the threshold for enhancing the minimum sentence of a person convicted of driving under the influence” according to The Tennesseean. So these two have been earnestly active in the fight to reduce DUIs but this is… a horrible idea.
Could Tennessee Actually Ban Cold Beer Sales?
This seems unlikely to pass. The bill itself was written broadly and it hasn’t advanced to a hearing date since it was filed last month.
However, the bill might already have had some intended consequences. If the purpose of the bill is to reduce DUIs that starts with education and awareness about DUI prevention and safe driving.
This story has been picked up by news outlets across the United States as everyone from coast to coast is flabbergasted by the hubris of politicians who think banning cold beer sales is (1) feasible, (2) something the public would accept, and (3) would actually reduce DUIs at all.
For starters, there’s zero data suggesting the temperature of beer at the point of sale has any impact on whether or not a person making a decision to drive while intoxicated will go through with that decision. Common sense would suggest that if someone is careless and reckless enough to drive drunk, the temperature of the beer might not have any impact whatsoever on that decision.
Gant told reproters “if you look on the side of the road across our state, you’ll see the beer cans. That’s your evidence that people are drinking and driving. They’re getting that beer, that alcohol from the convenience stores.” Gant himself was in the ICU for several weeks in 2022 after being struck by a drunk driver so this is near and dear to him.
He is also seeking to limit the number of drinks bars or restaurants can serve patrons. That is a very slippery slope. For starters, the rate at which alcohol is metabolized in the system is not 1:1 from person to person. Someone who weighs 300 pounds obviously has a different metabolic rate than someone who weighs 110 pounds.
Putting a blanket cap on ‘# of drinks per person’ doesn’t work for an infinite number of reasons. That then leads to a road where restaurants and bartenders become the arbiters of whether a person is deemed ‘safe’ or ‘over served’ and in turn, the onus of responsibility gets shifted to the bartender pouring drinks or the restauranteur who owns the establishment and isn’t even there that night. It simply doesn’t work.
From a place of practicality… Beer cannot be unrefrigerated or it goes bad. According to Binwise, beer storage follows a 3-30-300 day rule:
- Beer can be kept at 90°F for 3 days before expiring
- Beer can be kept at 72°F for 30 days before expiring
- Beer can be kept at 38°F for 300 days before expiring
Would the FDA even allow this to happen? That seems doubtful given the very real threat it would present to consumers if all of a sudden shelves were littered with skunked beer.
Local news stations have picked up the story:
As more Tennesseeans become aware of this bill it seems less and less likely to go anywhere as Tennessee banning cold beer cold lead to a lot of lawmakers losing their jobs.
In the meantime, Tennesseeans who want to keep seeing the great state of Tennessee sell cold beer need to get out there and fight for their right to party. And that starts with sharing this news (this article) far and wide.