It's legal to drink in public in Texas. There is no state law that prohibits the public consumption of alcoholic beverages. However, many local jurisdictions have laws that prohibit or restrict public consumption of alcohol. Many people believe that it's illegal to walk down the street drinking a beer in Texas.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no general state prohibition on public consumption of alcohol in the Texas Penal Code. In other words, Texas law allows a person to drink a beer while walking down the street (or while standing in an alley), unless an exception applies. As you may have noticed, you don't actually need to drink from an open container to be charged with an open container violation. Just having an open alcohol container in your vehicle is enough to receive a charge.
According to law (§ 49,031 (a) (), “open container” means a bottle, can, or other container containing any quantity of alcoholic beverage and that is open, that has been opened, that has been opened, that has a broken seal, or whose contents have been partially removed. Arlington prohibits the consumption of alcohol on a public street, alley, or sidewalk within 1000 feet of a homeless shelter or substance abuse treatment center outside the business district. All pre-opened containers of alcoholic beverages should be stored and transported in the trunk of the vehicle (or behind the last row of seats if the vehicle does not have a divided trunk) or other storage that the driver or passengers do not have access to. Whenever you are on a public road, street, highway, interstate, or other public road, you may be charged if you carry non-alcoholic beverages in a vehicle.
A motor vehicle driver is automatically considered to be under the influence of alcohol if a chemical test shows a blood alcohol content (BAC) equal to or greater than 0.08 percent. Contrary to popular belief, there is no state prohibition that prohibits the public consumption of alcohol in Texas, unless it is in a state park or in an area of a city where it has been specifically considered illegal. Under Texas law, “open container” means a bottle, can, or any other container that contains any quantity of alcoholic beverage and that is open, that has been opened, that has been opened, that has a broken seal, or whose contents have been partially removed. A motor vehicle driver is considered to be under the influence of alcohol if a chemical screening test shows a blood alcohol content equal to or greater than 0.08 percent.
You may have a legal right to drink a beer in public, but most people don't, so it could draw attention to you and have a police officer investigate you for a charge of public intoxication. It is a class A misdemeanor to sell or consume alcohol in a place that is allowed to sell alcohol during restricted periods.
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