Drinking While Carrying

[DSARGE]

How many of you have a beer or two while carrying? Spent Sat morning with a guy from work checking out a few gun shops and sporting goods stores. Of course, both of us were carrying. I know him from work, but this was the first time I ever hung out with him in a social setting. We wound up at a hamburger joint, and he ordered a beer. He had two over the course of lunch. It is none of my business what anyone does, and this is not illegal--just a personal decision. This got me to thinking. What if one had to use his weapon--what kind of defense would he have concerning decision making if you have alchohol in your system--regardless of the amount? What if you got "made" sitting at a table full of empty beer bottles? What do ya'll think?

[longtooth]

Not while carrying or when I am in the shower & dont have one on.
I dont drink.

[jimlongley]

I drink, but not while carrying, and I'm ALWAYS carrying. (except like LT)

[Mithras61]

Well, I'm not a big alcohol fan. I mean, I don't mind if others indulge, and I do occasionally have a few, but not usually. When I do have something alcoholic to drink, I usually make it a point to not be carrying and to have my spouse drive home. It isn't that I'm a cheap drunk or anything, but I'd rather not take an unneccesary risk.

I view mixing alcohol and carrying/driving as being on about the same risk level as (for example) a fat old white guy like me going down to the fourth ward and making racist cracks to the folks living there - not the dumbest thing ever, but far too close.

[txinvestigator]

How many of you have a beer or two while carrying? Spent Sat morning with a guy from work checking out a few gun shops and sporting goods stores. Of course, both of us were carrying. I know him from work, but this was the first time I ever hung out with him in a social setting. We wound up at a hamburger joint, and he ordered a beer. He had two over the course of lunch. It is none of my business what anyone does, and this is not illegal--just a personal decision. This got me to thinking. What if one had to use his weapon--what kind of defense would he have concerning decision making if you have alchohol in your system--regardless of the amount? What if you got "made" sitting at a table full of empty beer bottles? What do ya'll think?

Alcohol effects different people differently, and many things effect the level of absorption.

What would "happen" if you had a beer and had to shoot someone depends on MANY factors. I would think that unless you had to shoot the person while in possession of the beer, if the cop had reason to suspect you had been drinking, you would be showing signs of impairment. And THAT certainly could be a bad thing.

[GlockenHammer]

Know yourself and your limits. Some people shouldn't touch a drop while carrying.

[frankie_the_yankee]

I'm a heart patient and I have a glass of wine more or less every other day. My doctor approves. Actually, he wants me to have one every day, but I don't always want one so I don't. Usually, it's with a meal. It doesn't matter in the slightest to me whether I'm carrying or not. And I am almost always carrying.

I don't believe that having a glass of wine means I should give up my rights to self defense. I also do not believe I would ever be judged as intoxicated after a glass of wine.

Come on you "strict constructionists". What do you think James Madison would say about this?

If I ever have to use my gun in defense of innocent life, I'm fully prepared to let my actions speak for themselves.

When I see cops arresting and prosecuting other cops for getting hammered when their shift is over, while they are still carrying, I might look at this differently, but probably not even then.

A couple of years ago a retired Austin cop and his wife (a senior level Austin cop herself) got killed when their motorcycle went off the road. They had been participating in a "poker run" with a group of other riders, mostly other cops. At each stop there would be partying and drinking. At their last stop, the guy rode his bike into the bar, put his front wheel against a wall, and did a burnout right in the bar, after which they were asked to leave.

About a mile down the road from there, they were both found dead. The guy's blood tested around 0.34, and his wife wasn't far behind.

I have no idea whether they or any of the other cops present were carrying THAT DAY. But for someone to blow over 0.3 and still be conscious means that they have a HUGE tolerance level. And you can only get that from years of heavy drinking.

Most social or light drinkers would pass out around 0.2 or less. Over 0.30 is close to a level that will kill most people all by itself.

What I do NOT believe, is that these two could have spent years on the force drinking heavily like that, without ANY of their co-workers noticing SOMETHING. I've worked with people with drinking problems, and they are not too hard to spot (or smell, especially if you're riding around in a car with one).

"Functional alcoholics"? Puh-lease. They might have been functional alright, but there's no way they could have drank enough to have that kind of tolerance without it showing.

And for all those years, none of their co-workers, all sworn to enfore the law, said a word.

I think cops put their pants on one leg at a time just like I do. Having a Peace Officer's commission doesn't make anyone any more able to exercise good judgement when they are stinking drunk than the next stinking drunk guy without a commission, IMO.

"The stress of the job"? I don't want to hear it. If someone can't deal with being a cop without getting drunk to relieve the stress, they shouldn't be a cop.

At any rate, I will continue to enjoy my glass of wine whenever I want.

Cheers!

[Thane]

I drink only at home, where I can have my firearm with me with or without the CHL. If I'm planning on going anywhere, I don't indulge - not because I've had too much to drink, but because I always have my firearm with me.

I know that for the most part, "one beer" won't affect me to any great extent (especially so if it's Budwater or something similar), but on the small chance I have to use my firearm while off-property, I don't want there to be anything to support the idea of a "drunk with a gun," much less avoiding legal ramifications. Since I carry all the time when I'm out and about, I never "have a brew with the guys." I might go, but I stick to soda.

And when I drink at home, it's -always- limited to one drink. While the legal ramifications are different, I don't wanna affect my aim. And there's still the "drunk with a gun" image to avoid as well.

[KBCraig]

I do love beer, but I so seldom touch a drop outside my home that so far as the world knows, I don't drink. I enjoy beer at home after work, but since I don't get home until after midnight, there are no neighbors or buddies involved. Just a quiet quaff while I unwind.

I have to give an honest confession: when I was 24 and bulletproof, the MPs popped me for DWI in Germany. That was an eye-opener, and it was over 10 years before I drove after even a single beer. And even in the last 10 years, there have only been four or five times where I've driven after one beer, and never after more than two. And then only if it was over the course of a long meal.

At home, it's different. I might have 6 or 8 over the course of a long ballgame (3-4 hours). I usually put the iron away at the first bathroom break, which means after a couple of beers. My wife says she can't detect any change at all in me, but of course there is some effect. But I'm basically the same steady person with beer or without.

So I don't rush to disarm before cracking the first bottle, but I am much more cautious in public.

Kevin

[lrb111]

It would be interesting to see a break down. But add me to the list that don't drink at all. So, it would not matter to me if it was a 7-11, restaurant, bar, brewery or distillery. Or any other place that has available alcohol.

[pmw]

Hi, all. My understanding is that carrying a weapon lowers the legal BAC threshold to 0.02. Go go http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents ... 4530-B.htm and search the page for "Alcohol restrictions on license holders". I have not found this in current law, nor have I found anything that disproves the info at that link.

Does anyone know the current law for sure?

edit: Whoops; the link above is to Michigan laws. My bad. The question still stands, though.

[Mike1951]

I fail to see what Michigan law would have to do with Texas anyway.

BTW, put me on the tee-totaler side when carrying.

[pbandjelly]

I dont drink.

don't you get thirsty?

srsly, folks. When I go to a show (bands; music) I can't carry, so a beer or two doesn't make a nevermind to me. Bud Light doesn't do much, when you're elbow to elbow, watching a show. shewt, it keeps my throat from being parched! and let's be honest. BudLight is just flavored water, anyway.... (not in the law's eyes, I know!!!)
otherwise, I temper things greatly to my situation. Where, when, have I eaten/will I be eating (or eaten haha).

[gigag04]

BudLight is just flavored water, anyway.... (not in the law's eyes, I know!!!)

The amount of alcohol absorbed by the body in one 12 oz beer, a 1 and 1/2 oz shot of Crown, or a 6 oz glass of wine are all pretty much the same. TABC refers to this as "a drink."

Get a double jack and coke? That counts as two drinks. On AVERAGE (body weight, metabolism, food consumption can vary this) a person's body processes one "drink" of alcohol per hour.

This how we bartenders track consumption and ensure a safe experience for our guests.

In regards to carrying, each one should know their own limits, and do what they see as responsible for them, be it abstinence or moderation.

-nick

[KBCraig]

As for how alcohol can affect people differently, let me offer our example here at home. My wife and I stand almost eye to eye, and are roughly of the same build and weight (a gentleman never asks, and a smart husband knows better!)

As I noted before, I can drink 6 or 8 over a long evening without anyone noticing any visible effect. My wife, on the other hand, will attempt a half glass of wine about once a year, but will curl up and take a nap before she finishes it.

We joke that she's a cheap date.

Kevin