When it comes to drinking alcohol there are a lot of rules and regulations that go along with it.
For starters, you must be 21 years old to consume alcohol.

You must not drink and then operate a vehicle and you must not have an open container on your person in a public space.

That last one is the one that I have issues with.

I recently turned 21, and I have to say it has taken a lot of stress out of my life.

I am legal to enter and drink at a bar and to purchase alcohol at a liquor or beer store.

Before I turned 21, I am not going to lie, I did partake in a party or two in which I may or may not have accepted a drink or two.

While I in no way shape or form condone drinking and driving, I do have a problem with not being able to hold a beer while I walk down the street.

According to openingcontainer.com, there is, in fact, no federal law that states that you cannot have an open container of alcohol in public.

However, the states are free to legislate this law, and in most states these statutes are controlled at the local level.

Criminalfindlaw.org recently reported that one of the main reasons we have open container laws is to maintain the quality-of-life for people in a community.

I understand this, and it does make sense; however, I think it could be argued that there are other things that we are allowed to do that deter from a community have a certain level of quality of life.

Criminal.findlaw.org also reported that you would be considered to receive an open container charge if you are drinking on a public sidewalk, on the front steps of an apartment building, in a residential neighborhood or in a parking lot.

If these are true, then every person in my neighborhood at home and every person who has ever attended a Philadelphia sporting event should be sent a public container notice in the mail.

I see that we have this law and I question its severity. My family is very close to my neighbors at home and we have all been known to walk around from house to house with alcoholic drinks in hand.

Also, I have been to a tailgate or two in Philly for sporting events and concerts, and the amount of drinks that I see in people’s hands is astounding.

This past summer, I attended the Kenny Chesney concert and the tailgate I went to was arguably the largest I have ever been to.

I saw people set up bars where kegs were visible, and I saw people blending mixed drinks from their cars. I also saw police officers walking around allowing it all to happen.

This was a huge event in which public consumption probably should not have happened and yet, the law turned a blind eye.

I do not see the point of open container laws.

If I am legal to drink, then why can my roommates and I not sit outside our house with a beer or two to talk about our day?

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