CCW and Alcohol at Restaurants

If I drink...

Indiana is silent about how much one can drink while carrying; however, a LEO who finds me intoxicated and being unsafe while drinking can file an administrative action alleging that I am an improper person, and possibly lose my license to carry.

That said, I don't drink much at all anyways. At most, a large beer with dinner (which, at my weight, probably puts me nowhere close to the legal limit- using an online estimator, .02 BAC). That's the most I drink in public period.

If for any reason I were to drink any more than that, my firearm would not leave my safe at home. I don't drink, don't get drunk, never have, and probably never will.
 
Sounded very risky to me when I first heard about it but I guess the bad guys were already doing it.
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Statements like that make no sense to me. ( What, the gun, force you to guzzle alcohol, then go out shooting??)
I normally have a beer or two or wine with dinner which makes me outside the law if I carry and in a world of trouble if I did have to draw or fire my weapon.

What do you guys do in this situation.
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What's the question?
Almost makes me think you may not really be ready to carry!
 
Couple questions that this thread has got me a thinkin on.

It is Illegal to "carry" while drinking any alcohol, or to a specified BAC set by State law. Got it, get it.

Some of us here have suggested if one is going to drink, he/she should keep the firearm locked in the car and do not "carry" it into the Bar/Restaurant. Others have suggested to leave it at home.

If you lock the gun in your car knowing you are going to consume alcohol are you willing and legally able to use it in a SD situation once you left the establishment and made it back to your vehicle?

If you are at your vehicle "Drunk" and you and your wife are attacked, can you legally retrieve the firearm from the vehicle and use it for SD, or does BAC take away your legal right to self defense.

If you have no legal right to "Carry" while under the influence, do you also have no legal right to Self Defense with a firearm?
 
steve4102 said:
...If you have no legal right to "Carry" while under the influence, do you also have no legal right to Self Defense with a firearm?
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One generally would not lose the right to defend himself. But the impaired perception and judgement associated with being under the influence can become factors in assessment by a prosecutor, grand jury and/or trial jury of whether he reasonably concluded that lethal force was necessary. Being under the influence might or might not hurt your claim of justification, but it definitely will not help it.
 
"If you're going to drink and drive, why not drink and carry?"

Because it is legal to have a drink and drive as long as you are not over .08 BAC in TN but illegal to have ANY alcohol and carry.
 
I do not think that you should be forced to give up your right to defend yourself simply because you enjoy a beer or two, that's BS. Be responsible is the only guide that I use. Better judged by a jury that to perish at the hand of a criminal. Refuse to be a victim!
 
If it's illegal, then don't do it.

My personal opinion is that an idiot will be a drunken idiot, and a normal person will still handle himself as a gentleman with a few drinks.

But the laws and courts are another story.
 
Again, another fact that Connecticut doesn't have such laws. Such a conservative state with supposed conservative laws. It's funny that many other states have laws concerning this.

I'm not aware of any law that says I can't carry while drinking. It'd be stupid to have a law, IMHO. Oh yeah, anybody can illegally have a gun, but God forbid the people that can legally carry one.
 
Revan said:
I do not think that you should be forced to give up your right to defend yourself simply because you enjoy a beer or two, that's BS. Be responsible is the only guide that I use. Better judged by a jury that to perish at the hand of a criminal. Refuse to be a victim!
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On the other hand, what if you are unlucky enough to have had a few drinks, need to use your gun in self defense, and are now about to be judged by a jury?

The prosecutor will no doubt have put on the witness stand one or more experts to testify about how alcohol consumption impairs one's judgment and perception. And now they will be considering that expert testimony while deciding whether to accept your story about how and why you decided that it was justified for you to shoot another human.

Some folks don't fully understand the legal reality of using force in self defense. This post and this post might provide some useful background on the subject.
 
On the other hand, what if you are unlucky enough to have had a few drinks, "need to use your gun in self defense, and are now about to be judged by a jury?

The prosecutor will no doubt have put on the witness stand one or more experts to testify about how alcohol consumption impairs one's judgment and perception. And now they will be considering that expert testimony while deciding whether to accept your story about how and why you decided that it was justified for you to shoot another human.

Some folks don't fully understand the legal reality of using force in self defense. This post and this post might provide some useful background on the subject."

________________

So you're saying that people that drink aren't legally obligated to defend themselves?
 
monkeyfist said:
So you're saying that people that drink aren't legally obligated to defend themselves?
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Well first, one is never legally obligated to defend himself. But the law may excuse one from criminal responsibility for an act of violence which would otherwise incur criminal penalties if it can be established that the act was justified. That is the reality of using force in self defense.

See the posts I've linked to for more details.
 
Thanks guys for the discussion. The deeper issues above were the purpose of my post. I don't carry in public places and never have felt the need. The point of my post was to understand how others who CCW full time or live in locations where crime is more challenging handle the situation. Hopefully we all agree, alcohol and guns are best enjoyed separately.

I hope I'm never in a position where I have to choose to seriously wound or take another person's life and like you I most likely never will be. But if I were in that position, if I were walking back to my car after having a beer and pizza with my family ... and I was unarmed would the results be worse than facing a similar situation while armed? I understand neither situation is desirable but those are the philosophical type questions that prompted my post. Thanks all
 
I'm 29 yrs. Old and I actually quit drinking all together once I got my ccw permit. I got my permit so I could always at least feel safer. To feel safer you always need your gun. To always have your gun you should never be under the influence of anything. Firearms and alcohol = problems. Unless grandpa is in the duck blind. He swears jaquins brandy saved his life in the old days when their boat tipped. He always keeps it with him now when duck hunting lol.
 
A time and place !!!

I hope I'm never in a position where I have to choose to seriously wound or take another person's life and like you I most likely never will be.
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You will know what you have to do, when and if, that time comes ..... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
I do not think that you should be forced to give up your right to defend yourself simply because you enjoy a beer or two, that's BS.
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Does a convicted felon or other disqualified person lose the right to defend themselves? No, but they can't use a firearm to do it.



In Ohio, you can't have any alcohol in your system. That takes away any argument for whether you had too much to carry based on all the other factors. I believe its also illegal to lock it in your car since it is still under your control, even if you under the limit to drive.
 
Does a convicted felon or other disqualified person lose the right to defend themselves? No, but they can't use a firearm to do it.



In Ohio, you can't have any alcohol in your system. That takes away any argument for whether you had too much to carry based on all the other factors. I believe its also illegal to lock it in your car since it is still under your control, even if you under the limit to drive.
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Are you saying that in Ohio, having alcohol in ones system strips him/her of their legal right to self defense with a firearm?

Are you saying that if you had a few and you and your wife were attacked in a parking lot it is against Ohio law to defend yourself with a firearm? You can't retreat, you can't physically fight back, so you must stand tall and take your beating and hope you do not die in the process?
 
steve4102 said:
....In Ohio, you can't have any alcohol in your system. That takes away any argument for whether you had too much to carry based on all the other factors. I believe its also illegal to lock it in your car since it is still under your control, even if you under the limit to drive.
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Are you saying that in Ohio, having alcohol in ones system strips him/her of their legal right to self defense with a firearm?...
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Remember Bernie Goetz, the 1984 "Subway Vigilante."

He was acquitted of shooting the men he said attacked hm. The jury accepted his claim of self defense. But he was sent to prison for unlawful possession of a gun.

So it's possible for a to be exonerated from criminal responsibility for shooting someone if your claim of self defense is accepted. But you could still be convicted of a weapons charge if you violated some law by having the gun in your possession.
 
The jury accepted his claim of self defense. But he was sent to prison for unlawful possession of a gun.
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Criminal charges were only the beginning of his problems. Subsequent civil litigation drained him financially.

Civil suits have a lower burden of proof, and the allegation could be made that I was negligent by virtue of being impaired.
 
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