Town proposing keg ordinance

Oxford is a college town, so I assume they're trying to cut down on student drunkenness and underage drinking, moreso than DUIs in the general population. The same situation exists here. I think one can actually have more kegs on hand, but you need to apply for a permit, which is free or nearly free; this also lets the authorities check up on you to make sure things aren't getting out of hand. If you're concerned about your proposed local ordinance, let them know, and suggest such an amendment for similar situations. You might also want them to make it clear it pertains to commercially available liquor, so homebrew is exempt. (Though I personally would rather fly under the radar on that particular issue.) (It's actually a bit more complicated here since we have three distinct city governments in the 6- by 4-mile urban area. I think only one city, the largest, has the restriction.)

You'd definitely want to be well under the radar in Oxford as far as homebrewing is concerned -- it isn't legal in Mississippi.

I guess home brewing is legal in Miss? There appears to be a brew club in Oxford. Hope they're paying attention.

Mark R

I'd bet that most weddings in Mississippi, large or small, don't have alcohol available at all! That's probably true in AL and most of GA and TN also.

It is indeed what they are trying to do, albeit in a knee-jerk fashion, after deaths from underage drinking & driving. Just like being for hot dogs, apple pie & chevrolet, I am against drinking & driving. But the approach here is hypocritical when juxtaposed with the university's "don't see, don't tell" policy for allowing alcohol on campus during football games (after which 2 of these recent deaths occurred).

Aside from this, the logic makes no sense. Why should having more than 1 keg be illegal, but 50 cases of beer onhand is A-Ok? More than anything else I may never need 4 gallons & 1/2 oz. of beer in a readily dispensable container at one time, but the idea of it being illegal bothers me to no end.

Agree about staying under the radar wrt homebrew..

Cheers! Dukester

"Under the radar" would be a good idea ... I believe that homebrewing's technically not legal in Mississippi.

Hmmm.... their definition of "keg" may exempt carboys or buckets (without spigots): "Keg." Any container capable of holding four gallons or more of beer or light wine and which is designed to dispense beer or light wine directly from the container for purposes of consumption

This looks bad for homebrewers that keg: If any non-licensee is in possession of a keg containing beer or light wine commencing thirty (30) days from the effective date of this ordinance, and which keg does not bear the registration seal, or upon which keg the registration seal has been altered, defaced or obliterated, the container and its contents shall be deemed to be contraband and subject to seizure and forfeiture, and further penalty for violation of this ordinance as herein provided.

So if you homebrew in Oxford (and this passes), you better start bottling! :)

I don't see how this ordinance can really do what it is intended ... it seems to be you'd still be quite legal if you had 5 friends also get permits and buy kegs, then keep them in their separate cars and only serve from one in the house at a time, swapping out a new one each time the last one empties. I guess you wouldn't have a selection that way, tho...

"Not Statutorily Recognized" as of Sept 1995 when this was last updated:

It doesn't make much sense and will probably do little to prevent underage drinking or DUIs, etc. However, as is the case with most legislation like this, that's not the real point. The main goal behind something like this is usually so that some politician can stand up somewhere and claim that they were the one that tried to save students from the evils of alcohol and prevent innocent people from getting hurt in traffic accidents caused by drunks. "I'm here to protect your children! Vote for me!". Nevermind that the ordinance is stupid and won't really change anything other than becoming a hassle. It makes it *look* like somebody is trying to accomplish something good and make people's lives safer.

Just a guess, but are there any local elections coming up sometime soon in Oxford? I bet that when they do, whoever originally wrote/sponsored this ordinance will probably pull it out during the campaign.

You see this kind of stuff all the time on a federal/state level with various "Save the children!" laws. It's just the paperwork version of kissing babies to earn votes.

John.

The more cuts, the more students want to drink in excess when found.

Its not clear to me how many Kegs you could have in a vehicle, or how many houses around the premisis, could contain a backup keg.

greg

"They'll get my kegs WHEN THEY PEEL THEM FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!!!!!!"

;-]

("Honest Ociffer! It's just COCA-COLA!!!")

This proposed ordinance is probably targeting frat houses at 'Ole Miss'.

But this is Mississippi where it's easier to get 'shine' than it is to get a false ID card!

Dick