My colleague Danny Cortez wrote a informing blog about the "Dram Shop Act" that Texas has in place. I was unaware that a bartender can be blamed for the reckless driving of a drunk driver, or for accidentally selling a under aged minor alcohol. In his post he makes a really strong argument about why the bartender should not be blamed. He gives an example saying "...the bar only has three bartenders working their best in order to serve drinks as fast as they can... the bartender probably can't recognize how many drinks has been served," there is no way you can keep up with all the people in a bar.
I agree with his blog post. Of course the servers are trained to know if someone has drunk too much and is either harmful to their self or someone else but how can you measure someones alcohol consumption level on a Friday night in a bar full of loud music and dancing people? You can not wrongfully accuse a bartender for a grown ups bad decisions. The overly drunk person is grown and should know how to properly take care of themselves. At the age of 21 a person, should know that if they are planning on going out and getting drunk they should find a designated driver. As an adult that person should be responsible for themselves. There are too many people who come in and out of bars to remember a certain face that is intoxicated. Also a person could be trashed and they send their friend up to the bar counter to buy rounds for them. There are so many scenarios where it is unethical to cast blame on the bartender, in my eyes that is just an escape for someone who has committed a serious crime. It would be a poor excuse to go into a court room and tell a judge "Oh it was the bartenders fault I got drunk last night, got into my car, attempted to drive myself home, and crashed into someone." If you are an adult, you should be able to act like one and know your limit and take responsibility of your own actions.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
Funding For Planned Parenthood
The Help These Women Deserve
In these past few years Texas legislators have been
defunding family planning. They are trying to ultimately remove Planned
Parenthood out of the state’s women’s health program. 50 clinics have shut down
because of this as well. According to the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, 300
pregnant women seeking an abortion were unable to get birth control they wanted
the three months before they became pregnant due to the cuts in funding. In
this article from MotherJones.com, it is said that there will be nearly
24,000 unplanned births between 2014 and 2015 thanks to the cuts, which will
also raise the state and federal taxpayer’s Medicaid cost by up to $273
million.
I think that Texas should fund Planned Parenthood because it
was just more than an abortion clinic. The place provided birth control,
contraceptive counseling, screenings for cancer, HIV test and other key
problems women faced. The government not funding these middle class and poor
women just keeps them in poverty. Some women may not even be able to get the
proper care they need because of the cost. Also without the Planned Parenthoods
being open women will have to travel hundreds of miles to get a safe, legal
abortion. The funding of Planned Parenthood helped alleviate some of the
suffering for poor women. Instead of having women have kids because they aren’t
able to get the funds for an abortion or get to a nearby clinic, the government
should at least help them have a choice.
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