Thursday, February 26, 2009
Hargrove No Booze Across State Lines? Tennessee, You Are Obnoxious!
Posted by Brantley Hargrove on Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 1:05 PM
My first instinct would be to flaunt this law, which is clearly unjust, anti-competitive and irritating as hell. But then I wonder: How is this even legal? The Constitution prohibits states from discriminating against out-of-state businesses, but my interpretation is simply too loose. Only licensed wholesalers and manufacturers can bring hooch in currently, according to an opinion penned by the state attorney general.
In 2005 the United States Supreme Court ruled that states cannot ban direct Internet purchase from out-of-state wineries while allowing in-state wineries to do the same thing--a ruling against hypocrisy I suppose. New state legislation will seek to lift that ban. And it would clearly be a boon: Tennesseans will be happy because they can purchase bottles not found on the shelves of your local liquor store, and Tennessee wineries can sell to out of state customers.
Until then, get caught with a small amount and that's a $500 fine. More than three gallons and you're looking down the barrel at a felony.
Comments (5)
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You wrote: "In 2005 the United States Supreme Court ruled that states cannot ban direct Internet purchase from out-of-state wineries. New state legislation will seek to lift a ban that seems to have been declared unconstitutional for several years now."
This is somewhat complicated area but you need to correct the implication that the Supreme Court decision in 2005 overturned Tennessee's law which prohibits you from shipping wine from a winery from California to your home in Nashville. The decision said that a state may not prohibit such shipments by out-of-state firms while allowing in-state wineries to do it.Tennessee's law (whether one agrees with it or not) prohibits all such shipments and was not affected by the decision. (You were good enough to provide a link to the recent Tenn AG Opinion on this issue. The fact that the AG said that current law in Tennessee prohibits such shipments from out-of-state might have tipped you off that the law is not, in fact, unconstitutional.)
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You gonna "flaunt" the law? I'd pay money to see that. "Flouting" on the other hand...
