USA1 wrote:"Carrying" while drinking is not prohibited, but it is a criminal offense to carry while intoxicated.
HankB wrote:If anyone has a reference to case law involving a successful prosecution of a person for "intoxicated carry" after they had a normal beer or two, especially with a meal, please post it.
IIRC, the statute language is virtually identical for being intoxicated with a firearm and being intoxicated while driving.
As such, people tend to overthink "what is the definition of intoxicated" as if each police officer is going to make up his own judgment about what "intoxicated" means.
However, I would submit that there is already TONS AND TONS of case law on intoxicated driving, and there have been more court cases on that subject than you can shake a stick at. DUI defense is a breads and butter item for defense attorneys, and they already know what constitutes probable cause, standards of proof, LEO training requirements, impairment test procedures --- all of that stuff. I don't think an intoxicated firearm case would reinvent all those wheels.
One of the reason they added 0.08% alcohol is statutorily considered proof of impairment is because it closes that door to defense attorneys. It was a LOT easier to get people off on drunk driving charges before that law was passed. Proving intoxication is more complicated than you think.