When I was a kid, I would sit at the kitchen table to eat cereal before school.
The back of the cereal box would always have some sort of entertainment built in, and my favorite of these listed old laws that are still in some city’s bloated code.
In those few minutes before the bus came, I could learn that it is illegal to ride a tandem bicycle on a Tuesday in San Francisco after sundown or that hunting off the back a giraffe is illegal in Atlanta.
These laws are certainly of no use to anyone. No form of law enforcement would ever enforce them, just as no reasonable society would actually abide by such a ridiculous restriction on freedom.
Laws are often created but rarely ever seem to be truly destroyed. Although most of these laws have no effect on our lives, the truly frightening thing is, some of these laws are still enforced right here in Mississippi.
In particular, I am referring to beer. Would you like to drink Torpedo Extra IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.? I know I would. Or perhaps you would like any of the 90 percent of the world’s beers not available in Mississippi. Again, yes I would.
Unfortunately Mississippi continues to enforce a restriction on alcohol by weight in beer. No beer sold in Mississippi can exceed 5 percent ABW. Why should our state’s government care about beer alcohol content?
My guess is that most everyone in the state has no problem with it. These beers are, in most cases, expensive beers meant to be enjoyed for taste. If the problem has to do with responsible drinking, why not ban all liquor? Its alcohol content is higher than beer’s. Not to mention that people are perfectly capable of making their own responsible decisions when freed from government intrusion.
Not only do Mississippians not have access to most beers, they also can’t even make their own. Home-brewing is legal in every state but three, and Mississippi is one of them. Home-brewing is actually federally legal, but it is still illegal in our state. Maybe our government will outlaw the brewing of coffee and tea next. After that, they can put limits on caffeine. It seems no more ridiculous.
Alabama recently overturned similar laws to those we have in Mississippi. A grassroots group in Mississippi called Raise Your Pints is working to speed the hopefully inevitable process. Anyone can join or just find out more information on their website.
If successful, I’ll be happy for a few reasons, First, a ridiculous and unnecessary restriction will have been lifted, and second, it will prove that a group of people fed up with absurd restrictions on freedom can focus their anger into actual change.
In an ironic twist to the situation, Gov. Haley Barbour recently made July 24-31 “Mississippi Craft Beer Week.” We now have to recognize a week devoted to something that is mostly illegal in our state. The outward appearance from our government is now that they really like and support craft beer, just not enough to let people have access to it.
Hopefully this conflict will soon be solved, and Mississippi’s antiquated ABW laws will join the cereal box ranks of absurdity.
Derrick Godfrey is a senior majoring in economics. He can be contacted at
[email protected].