Council mulls alcohol bans

old man wrote:

The problem is, as I was informed by a member of Farmington's Finest, there is NO PUBLIC INTOX LAW.
If thats the case then the problem lies with the citizens of Farmington and its law makers.

BINGO
Besides Las Vegas, Alantic City and the French quarter in N.O.!!! We are the only TOWN that allows DRUNK AND INTOXICATED IN PUBLIC in the ENTIRE U.S.!
When a man walks into DUI court for the 15th time, pays his fine, walks out, gets into his unlic,unins,unreg car, and drives to the bar! right in front of every cop on duty, and zero is done! This happens here daily and more than once! We ARE a Disappointment to ourselves!When a city says it cannot pass laws it's pure BS! I can't smoke Downtown, Constitutionaly!! Due to the LAW??? I can however be walking, puking drunk, and puke where i want, walk where i want, do what i want! I guess drunk is an ,excuse, we WANT to live with? The city has there excuse and drunk is one of them! They just don't want to get caught on there way home EVERY night!DRUNK!

another_individual wrote:

Unfortunately, I read in past issues that the City of Farmington or any surrounding communities cannot pass laws against public intoxication, because of New Mexico state laws. If you really want something done, get in contact with your state senators, representatives and the governor. Total prohibition does not work, read your history books.

Then why is it illegal in Albq,Santa Fe to staggar and puke in public ie: drunk in public???

Flash not a racial question or direction!
Awhile back like 5-6yrs ago 10 native Americans died due to bad hooch from a still on the Rez. Was this around the same time as the last round of "what should we do about the problem"? If not does anyone remember this happening? A drunk will find a way, but like every thing else we have a population of 90,000, not including the Rez, and prision/jail space for a population of 40,000, even with the new center. One of the biggest problems is every time they have to rehab, it's for 30 days only? It should be more like 90 working days from jail. So we know with out a doubt, they ARE aware of the reprocutions of getting drunk. ergo removing the excuse,not reason, so no mercy,next time!On foot=2yrs, in a car=attempted 2nd degree murder,15-25, if you kill while drunk=murder 1 LIFE, no parole! simple hold them responsable because we know by law they we sober long enough to learn it!

Prohibition of any intoxicating substance is not the answer. The ban of liqour sales on Sunday only apeases one group-fundamentalist Christians. Several problems with this:
1. What right do a group of people who abstain from everything have to dictate the moral behavior of the rest of us
2. I for one have no intention of going to church (sober or otherwise). Therefore, the religous folks will never have to observe my inibriation on their holy day.
3.If package liqour sales are banned, but restaraunts and bars are allowed to serve alcohol, then anyone who wants to drink on Sunday would be forced to do it in public. Does anybody else see the hipocracy in this?

4. When one purchases a drink in a bar or restaraunt they pay much more than they would if they purchased from a liqour store and went home to drink. I for one believe that the city council is simply attempting to generate more tax revenue on a day of the week that people spend less money. Solve everything-if churches insist on participating in government, they need to be taxed-then the city will have the additional revenue they don't make on package liqour taxes.
5. If alcohol sales are banned on Sunday for the evangalists, then what about Saturday for the Seventh Day Adventists or Friday for the Muslims. If government is to "make a law respecting an establishment of religion" (US Constitution, amendment #1)then they must extend the same provisions to all religions.

In short if you don't want to watch something, change the channel. If you don't want to drink don't go to the liqour store. If you don't want me to swear at your missionaries, leave my rights alone!

If going to church makes you a christian, does going to the garage make you a car?

Abc wrote:

<quoted text>
Totally agree with you. Weekends are made to relax and rest. Having a couple beers sounds like a good way to relax. they should open liquor stores at seven on sunday morning instead of twelve

YUP!

SAWYER wrote:

Prohibition of any intoxicating substance is not the answer. The ban of liqour sales on Sunday only apeases one group-fundamentalist Christians. Several problems with this:
1. What right do a group of people who abstain from everything have to dictate the moral behavior of the rest of us
2. I for one have no intention of going to church (sober or otherwise). Therefore, the religous folks will never have to observe my inibriation on their holy day.
3.If package liqour sales are banned, but restaraunts and bars are allowed to serve alcohol, then anyone who wants to drink on Sunday would be forced to do it in public. Does anybody else see the hipocracy in this?
4. When one purchases a drink in a bar or restaraunt they pay much more than they would if they purchased from a liqour store and went home to drink. I for one believe that the city council is simply attempting to generate more tax revenue on a day of the week that people spend less money. Solve everything-if churches insist on participating in government, they need to be taxed-then the city will have the additional revenue they don't make on package liqour taxes.
5. If alcohol sales are banned on Sunday for the evangalists, then what about Saturday for the Seventh Day Adventists or Friday for the Muslims. If government is to "make a law respecting an establishment of religion" (US Constitution, amendment #1)then they must extend the same provisions to all religions.
In short if you don't want to watch something, change the channel. If you don't want to drink don't go to the liqour store. If you don't want me to swear at your missionaries, leave my rights alone!
If going to church makes you a christian, does going to the garage make you a car?

I'm a smoker so i agree a BAN is not the answer. Except for any Constitutional rights we HAD! This is why laws must change, for the safty of the general public which is why:: first offence is 90 days working jail time. Second time 180 days, 3rd time 2 yrs! For drunk in public. If in a car it's going to look a lot worst, because if you kill, when drunk, it's murder in the first!! Because you DO KNOW drunk driving can kill, so to do so is premeditated. What's the difference between a drunk in a car and a TERRORIST with a gun, the TERRORIST has only so many bullets! The drunk has a full tank,do the math,kills go to the drunk,that makes them TERRORIST! Keeps me off the roads HERE at night! We don't need the permission of the state to abide by our own commercials, "You drink, you drive, you lose! Good joke!Even if I don't drink, I learned! Make the time fit the crime, and stop allowing it to be called an EXCUSE!

Get em all wrote:

<quoted text>
That was tried once, it didn't work. The problem is not the alcohol,(most of us drink), the problem is not the sale of alcohol on Sundays/holidays (buy more on Saturday), the problem doesn't even lie in education (the drunks know damn good and well what they are doing).
The problem lies in the fact that the police cannot/will not enforce any drinking in public laws.
The problem is the court system being over worked in frivilous lawsuits and doesn't have time to deal with minor law violations.
The problem lies in the jails being overcrowded with felonies; therefore, no room for minor criminals.

Are you kidding me, thousands of these drunks are arrested for drinking in public on a yearly basis. Just ask one of these street drunks how they feel about the local police. They will tell you that we constantly harass them. Most of them believe that all the police do is search for them.

FPD has full time employees whose only job is hunting down and arresting these people. It is a up hill battle for law enforcement in Farmington.

Now in my opinion, you fix the problem by doing away with things like the Roof, the Daily Bread, and Catholic Charities. If you feed and shelter them they wont go away. I believe it is called enabling.

just_nobody wrote:

<quoted text>
BINGO
Besides Las Vegas, Alantic City and the French quarter in N.O.!!! We are the only TOWN that allows DRUNK AND INTOXICATED IN PUBLIC in the ENTIRE U.S.!
When a man walks into DUI court for the 15th time, pays his fine, walks out, gets into his unlic,unins,unreg car, and drives to the bar! right in front of every cop on duty, and zero is done! This happens here daily and more than once! We ARE a Disappointment to ourselves!When a city says it cannot pass laws it's pure BS! I can't smoke Downtown, Constitutionaly!! Due to the LAW??? I can however be walking, puking drunk, and puke where i want, walk where i want, do what i want! I guess drunk is an ,excuse, we WANT to live with? The city has there excuse and drunk is one of them! They just don't want to get caught on there way home EVERY night!DRUNK!

Not true, ever been to the Mid-West? Totally cool to be loaded/carrying in Madison,WI. Get it straight mister. Drinking in public is F-U-N!

If you don't like pooh on your porch, take down the bird feeder. Kinda harsh, I like the idea legalizing alcohol on the rez instaed.

David Anderson wrote:

Something really needs to be done about this problem. I drive down broadway every day at 3 in the afternoon and from butler to lake i usually see at least 5 drunks, stumbling down the road or just hanging out on the benches with a brown paper sack. Everyone knows its beer, why is nothing done about it? I lived for a short time on the corner of lake and animas and it seemed like every night i had to escort intoxicated people out of my yard. I tried calling the cops but they just catch and release. I called the cops on one gentleman who i found in my storage shed and the very next night he was back. When they arrested him for trespassing the officer told me that the drunks had a constitutional right to wonder around drunk. In short,how about a TOTAL BAN on all liquor in the city of farmington? Bars,gas stations,restaurants, lets not sell anything at all. Cleary theres a problemin ourtown It makes me wonder how many of our recent guests in town, the rodeo and connie mack, have been pan handled. What kind of lasting impression will that leave on visitors?

We tried a total ban once, back in the 1920's It was called Prohibition, caused the biggest crime wave in the country's history. It was repealed less than 10 years later. Besides, for the vast majority of people, alcohol isn't a problem. How would you like it if when you were little I took away your gameboy for something your brother did? A total ban has the same effect. You were taught personal responsibility, and what ever we do to correct this problem (and I do agree with you that it is a major issue here) has to address it from that stand point.

Wow its funny how so many of you thing this would actually have an affect on people drinking. Remember when they tried prohibition? Yeah that worked really well.

Liquor licenses in the Farmington area are valued between $300,000 and $400,000. Today MSNBC closed bar.

If this is what owners pay,steep ain't it? its time for the drunks to take responsability and stop using it as an EXCUSE and let the law follow suite. I for one don't need more death on my consious by killing a drunk staggering in and out of traffic! Would you, or your teen?

Guess what, WHAT?? So WAS smoking!

Them drunks are dangerous I once has hit one crossing the road coming down the hill by KFC (not the one by the mall) I was younger, way younger! So this has been a problem for quit sometime. I parked right in the mid of the highway got out to see what the damage was and he luckily was alive (probably because he was drunker then drunk) but I helped him up and he walked away. I'm sure he felt it the next day. I was parked there for at least a good 20 minutes and no one stopped or called the cops, I thought at the time maybe this happens often. As a teenager it freaked me the F out!! It's a problem has been a problem and imagine if the cops had came or he had died because he was not in a cross walk wearing all black I did not see him..I probably would of went to jail for vehicular manslauter? who knows?

Phat Freddy wrote:

give them a place to booze and wonder in circles.. Let them drink themselves into the ground ...

I think this is the best idea yet. Fence off an area and let them have at it. While we're at it, if we have a gangster problem, whether it be in Aztec, Bloomfield, or Farmington, when they are jailed, put them all in the same cell. I guarantee they will take care of each other. Problem solved.

huh wrote:

Them drunks are dangerous I once has hit one crossing the road coming down the hill by KFC (not the one by the mall) I was younger, way younger! So this has been a problem for quit sometime. I parked right in the mid of the highway got out to see what the damage was and he luckily was alive (probably because he was drunker then drunk) but I helped him up and he walked away. I'm sure he felt it the next day. I was parked there for at least a good 20 minutes and no one stopped or called the cops, I thought at the time maybe this happens often. As a teenager it freaked me the F out!! It's a problem has been a problem and imagine if the cops had came or he had died because he was not in a cross walk wearing all black I did not see him..I probably would of went to jail for vehicular manslauter? who knows?

Bad part of the law is your probably right as far as a felony driving charge, loss of lic, time in jail,guilt [allready there hu]and then some. EVEN IF HIS BLOOD ALK LEVEL IS 3.6! IT'S YOUR FAULT. HE IS DRUNK IE: NOT RESPONSABLE FOR ANYTHING! This is one of the best places in the states to get caught driving 3 times the speed limit. As it is a felony, but if the officer smells alk on your breath, it's a misdorminor??[spelled wrong sorry] So to those who don't drink, keep a small bottle in your glove, when your pulled over, take a swig, and all will be well! Don't, and do time, lose your lic,choice is easy,to easy! Easy enough to puke! Sorry you had to be a victim , to , and no one cared for him, or you, that's unacceptable, for a small community to be scared to stop to help.

tired of it all wrote:

<quoted text>I think this is the best idea yet. Fence off an area and let them have at it. While we're at it, if we have a gangster problem, whether it be in Aztec, Bloomfield, or Farmington, when they are jailed, put them all in the same cell. I guarantee they will take care of each other. Problem solved.

As long as Gary King is State DA we need the gangs free and in buisn,sadly!

just_nobody wrote:

<quoted text>
Bad part of the law is your probably right as far as a felony driving charge, loss of lic, time in jail,guilt [allready there hu]and then some. EVEN IF HIS BLOOD ALK LEVEL IS 3.6! IT'S YOUR FAULT. HE IS DRUNK IE: NOT RESPONSABLE FOR ANYTHING! This is one of the best places in the states to get caught driving 3 times the speed limit. As it is a felony, but if the officer smells alk on your breath, it's a misdorminor??[spelled wrong sorry] So to those who don't drink, keep a small bottle in your glove, when your pulled over, take a swig, and all will be well! Don't, and do time, lose your lic,choice is easy,to easy! Easy enough to puke! Sorry you had to be a victim , to , and no one cared for him, or you, that's unacceptable, for a small community to be scared to stop to help.

I dont know what on-line law school you attended, but I hope it came with a money-back-guarantee!

to huh, I worked with someone who hit a drunk on the backroad to kirtland and he just walked. The drunk was hurt but survived and the kid how hit did all the right things called the cops waited for them to show and he didnt even get a ticket

And to my mother i understand fully the concept of personal responsibility but when my family is in danger on a nightly basis just because of where we lived it makes you think that something drastic has to be done. How about selling liquor on the rez? maybe then the zombie drunks in this town will stay out of my yard at 3 am

and the kid WHO hit the guy

interesting, I guess I could have called the cops but I had just received my lic. at the time and was scared...young and dumb....