However, they don’t always win their legal battles. In 2009, the League lost its protracted battle against the bar smoking ban, another measure aimed at helping public health. Whether or not you agree with the ban is not the issue because the Tavern League’s power, even in failure, was on full display in this fight. Not only was Wisconsin one of the very last states to make the ban law, but the League successfully negotiated a one-year grace period before smoking was gone altogether.
And finally, two little things showcase their ability to get what they want in the Badger-filled state (Wisconsin is just covered in Badgers, right? Like some states have lots of birds, but they just have Badgers everywhere?). First, they consistently lobby against the school year starting before Labor Day,t as it does in most other places. Why would they do this? Well, they need labor for the busy holiday week and weekend! Through as much of the summer as possible. And who are the servers in all these bars and restaurants? Kids, high school and college kids, who aren’t gonna have free hours for work once school starts.
The other little thing, which is much more inconvenient than needing underage labor, is trying to buy alcohol, not from a bar, after 9 pm. Because it’s not possible unless you are fortunate enough to live in a municipality where the ordinances allow for it. Otherwise, no buying a six-pack on your way home from work. Can’t have competition for the bars in the evenings, right? You wanna drink, go spend extra for the experience at the local watering hole (or holes, because seeing as there are 2.7 bars per grocery store, it is more than likely you’ve got options even in your town of 500 people).
The point of all of this isn’t to shame drinking or people who like to drink, because guess what: I like to drink too! I even like the drinking culture of Wisconsin; I grew up in it! It’s fun when it’s fun! The problem is, sometimes that fun gets out of hand, and the responsible thing to do is to set boundaries. In the United States, that job is up to the government. But when setting those boundaries get repeatedly thrown off course by the very people those boundaries are trying to rein in, well, that seems like a problem.
If Reddit is any indication (let’s be honest, it’s not totally), local opinions seem to match this article. And as additional evidence, here’s a couple of editorials and articles arguing the same things. The Tavern League has an inordinate amount of influence on local, state-level politics. You can’t fault them for looking out for their members, but you can fault them for doing that at the expense of both public safety and for stifling competition in a separate industry (legal weed for those not following through the haze of their legal hotboxes).
Top Image: Gonzalo Remy/Unsplash
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