The 12 Weirdest Liquor Laws in America

Don’t you dare try to ride a horse under the influence in Colorado, run up a tab in Iowa, or drink a cold beer in Oklahoma.


Texas isn’t the only state with weird liquor laws. All over the country, “blue laws,” originally intended to keep Christian citizens on the straight and narrow, are still on the books. Did we forget one? Tell us about your state or town’s laws in the comments below.

To read about the law in Texas that allows officers to arrest people for public intoxication inside bars, click here.

 

Alabama

No beer bottles bigger than 16 ounces. Wine labels may not be “immodest or sensuous”—one with a naked, bike-riding nymph is banned.

Source: Cycles Gladiator

Alaska

No alcohol sales between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Photo by Flickr user Steffe (Creative Commons)

Arizona

Drive-through liquor stores? No problem.

Photo by Flickr user ahockley (Creative Commons)

Colorado

Illegal to ride a horse under the influence.

Photo by Picasa user David

Florida

Boozing may be prohibited during hurricanes.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Georgia

Public drunkenness is illegal, but drinking in public is fine.

Photo by Flickr user koffiemetkoek (Creative Commons)

Iowa

Sorry, no running tabs.

Photo by Flickr user Simon Crowley (Creative Commons)

Massachusetts

No happy hours allowed.

Photo by Flickr user ell brown (Creative Commons)

New Hampshire

State-run liquor stores conveniently located at highway rest stops.

Photo by Flickr user Fiasco NY (Creative Commons)

Oklahoma

Stores must sell alcoholic drinks at room temperature.

Photo by Flickr user Tambako the Jaguar (Creative Commons)

South Carolina

No liquor sold on election day.

Photo by Flickr user mr adam g (Creative Commons)

Texas

Anyone under 21 can drink if they’re with their parents—or spouse.

Photo by Flickr user cytoon (Creative Commons)

 

 

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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