A Raid at a Club in Texas Leaves a Man in the Hospital and Gay Advocates Angry

[Valmy]

*puts on bulletproof vest and grabs shotgun*  TABC AGENTS AREN'T FEDS, SCUMBAG!  GIVE ME YOUR ID!

[ulmont]

I don't understand how what you've cited are anti-alcohol agencies, MBM.  Those are just agencies that handle liqour licenses (at least the California link).

ABC are total dicks. 

http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2009/07/sf_clubs_resist_abc_crackdown.html
http://www.stopthewaronfun.org/
http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=8752&catid=&volume_id=398&issue_id=437&volume_num=43&issue_num=39

[garbon]

ABC are total dicks. 

http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2009/07/sf_clubs_resist_abc_crackdown.html
http://www.stopthewaronfun.org/
http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=8752&catid=&volume_id=398&issue_id=437&volume_num=43&issue_num=39

Sounds like they are being hard-assed about their rules, but I don't see anything about them beating down patrons (and certainly doesn't seem like an anti-alcohol stance - more of a justifying our positions stance).

P.S. Funny that Revolution Cafe got in trouble over alcohol violations. That place is weed puffing city, but I guess because of the separation of governmental powers, ABC has no jurisdiction over marijuana use.

[Martinus]

So the cops were going into bars and arresting people for being drunk?

Are you fucking kidding me?

But the drunks were gay. They could have been having TEH GHEY SECS. Think of the children.

[Valmy]

When I was in college the TABC would send undercover agents to parties and as soon as they discovered one incident of underage drinking they would all rush in SWAT team style with bulletproof vests and such and make everybody lie down on the ground and start screaming.  I mean...we are college students drinking at a private party this is not some sort of cocaine distribution center.

[katmai]

So the cops were going into bars and arresting people for being drunk?

Are you fucking kidding me?

But the drunks were gay. They could have been having TEH GHEY SECS. Think of the children.

Cause the gays were?

[Martinus]

When I was in college the TABC would send undercover agents to parties and as soon as they discovered one incident of this they would all rush in SWAT team style with bulletproof vests and such and make everybody lie down on the ground and start screaming.  I mean...we are college students drinking at a private party this is not some sort of cocaine distribution center.

LOL that's kinda bizarre. It's not like it's Iran, is it? I mean, when I hear these stories, I'm kinda glad Poles are "just" catholic fundamentalist. Say what you will about catholics, but they are at least not anti-booze.

[Valmy]

LOL that's kinda bizarre. It's not like it's Iran, is it? I mean, when I hear these stories, I'm kinda glad Poles are "just" catholic fundamentalist. Say what you will about catholics, but they are at least not anti-booze.

Living in a state traditionally dominated by Baptists sucks sometimes.  I way prefer the Catholics.  They at least know how to have fun even if they are wracked with guilt.

[citizen k]

So the cops were going into bars and arresting people for being drunk?

Are you fucking kidding me?

But the drunks were gay.

Not from the two previous bars they raided that night. They're just pseudo-cops on a power trip.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

TABC isn't "anti alcohol," either.  It's just the agency that regulates it in Texas.  They do their silly little "don't get drunk" crusades every once in a while, where they'll go around and hand out tickets and shit for public intoxication (and attack gay people now, I guess), etc, so they may be more hardassed than most, but they're not "anti alcohol."  They wouldn't exist without alcohol.

I think many of them would prefer to be out of a job, but since making alcohol illegal isn't an option, they do the next best thing.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I think many of them would prefer to be out of a job, but since making alcohol illegal isn't an option, they do the next best thing.

Why would they prefer to be out of a job?  I mean...I'm sure there are some OMG ALCOHOL IS SATAN! weirdo types who'd happily give up their career if booze was banned, but I'd be inclined to think the vast vast majority are just your standard government employees who just do their thing on a daily basis and go home, along with some of those power tripping wannabe FBI types like what Valmy seems to have experienced (and perhaps like the two in this OP story), and so on.  None of those would want to lose their job, I wouldn't think.

To be fair though, the only time I've ever come across a TABC agent (that I know of) was when an undercover one, who had been sitting at the bar near me drinking water for a couple hours, nailed the bartender for one reason or another.  Waved the guy over, showed him a badge, called the regular police, took the guy away, etc.  It was surprisingly....well...it would have been fairly easy to miss the whole thing until the cop showed up.  Don't know what he did (selling booze to a minor, maybe?).  This was in either Irving or Arlington.  One of those little cities between Dallas and Ft. Worth.

Never experienced any crazy SWAT style raids or anything like in the OP where they're throwing people around and generally being dickheads, although there seem to only have been 2 of these guys there, so maybe it was a Ft. Worth PD thing instead (everyone involved is probably fucked to different degrees, of course).

Heh.  Anyway...I just don't have a big problem with TABC in general.  v0v