TexasCHLforum.com

txinvestigator wrote:

cyphur wrote:

txinvestigator wrote:
You can have a beer with your meal. The law prohibits you from being intoxicated while carrying.
\

I know - just trying to illustrate that I agree it shouldn't be a 0% BAC and that other things can screw you up a lot worse - state of mind wise.

Oh. You know its not a 0% BAC either, right?

It's not 0% BAC. It's not 0.8% BAC. It's not 1.0% BAC. It's not any number, because "intoxicated" is not defined within the statute, which means that the standard for "public intoxication" can come into play. And as we all know, the standard for PI is the officer's judgement that you are a danger to yourself or others; evidence of actual intoxication isn't needed.

Other than a very (very!) rare beer when out to dinner, I reserve my consumption of alcohol to having a few in the evening after work, while checking email, reading my forums, and watching Sports Center (go Cards!).

I'm sitting here sipping my fourth beer of the evening, which is three beyond my "public" limit, or my driving limit. Am I above 0.8% BAC? I don't know. I'm not about to risk finding out. Am I above the standard for PI? Depends on whether the "officer's judgement" comes from an officer who is a hardnosed tee-totalling 12-stepper bent on reforming the world, or one who actually evaluates whether or not I'm a danger to myself or the public.

I suppose, according to some rigid standards of safety, that I shouldn't have the M85UL in my right front pocket. But if I put it away, it would be with the rest of my loaded guns, which are all of five seconds away. Which would enhance safety... how, exactly?

Face it... if I was someone who was a danger to myself or others after a few drinks, then it wouldn't matter if a gun was in my pocket, on my closet shelf, or locked in my safe. If I were that kind of person, then I should either be gun-free, or alcohol-free. If I were that kind of person, I'd only be a danger to myself, because I'd quickly find myself without "others" to endanger.

I don't advocate drinking alcohol, especially to excess. But it's simply ridiculous to have a blanket "one size fits all" policy of never having access to firearms while or after drinking.

Kevin

Don't forget the importance of time to metabolize.

I had two drinks last night, about 18 hours ago. I figure I'm much closer to 100% than 80%. ;)

Individual tolerance varies greatly. Although we're the same height and build and approximate (mumble-mumble) poundage, Mrs. Craig and I tolerate alcohol very differently. Once or twice a year she'll have a half glass of wine. I pour her a full glass, but she falls alseep halfway through it. ;)

From what is probably too much practice for too many years, I have a pretty high tolerance, but I still only drink moderately. I never drive after even a single drink, unless at least a couple of hours have passed.

From one of those mandatory classes back when I was in the Army, I recall that, using their "standard model" of a 180 pound healthy male, the body metabolizes alcohol at the rate of about 1 drink per hour. ("One drink" is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, 1 ounce of hard liquor.)

So, having one drink per hour means never reaching intoxication. I believe they said that it took four drinks in the first hour to reach 1.0 BAC, and that level would be maintained if the subject had one drink per hour afterwards.

Kevin