In Austin, there was a 2013 law restricting craft brewers from sell territorial rights to distribute their beers. A judge has ruled this law unconstitutional.
Matt Miller, senior attorney and head of the Austin office of the Institute for Justice, who litigated these cases said:
“Our hope and the hope of our clients is that this will increase access to craft beer across the state.”
He also said:
“The Texas Constitution prohibits the Legislature from passing laws that enrich one business at the expense of another. This ruling is a victory for every Texas craft brewery and the customers who love their beer.”
A brewery can now self-distribute their beers as long as they make less than 40,000 barrels a year.
The owner of Jester Kings brewery posted:
“The idea that a statute designed specifically to deprive an entire class of Texas small business owners of the cash value of their businesses could pass is disheartening and reprehensible, and we cannot help but question the motives of anyone who would cast a vote in favor of, or in any way support such a provision.”
Now, Texans have an easier time buying beer than a woman trying to get an abortion. Texas bans abortions after 20 weeks, and they’ve closed numerous clinics.
They also cracked down on the remaining clinics.
The clinics have to meet the building requirements of an outpatient surgery center. They have to have hallways big enough for two gurneys to pass. The doctors need to have admitting privileges at local hospitals.
This surgery center requirement is not necessary. As one of our Liberal America writers, Wendi Petit, said:
“The fact is, abortions are very safe, and have a very low incidence of complications. According to the Guttmacher Institute, only 0.3% of women seeking an abortion have complications. This is a solution for a problem that does not exist. Making abortion clinics invest thousands of dollars to upgrade to the requirements of an ambulatory surgical center only serves to shut down the clinic.”
Well done, Texas. Buying beer is nice, but protecting women’s rights would be better.
Here is a video about the breweries’ court case:
Featured image by Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
