Thoughts on Alcohol Bans in Publicly Funded Parks

After nearly a week of technological deprivation, I’m catching up on my blog reading. I was intrigued by this post from vjack, because it addresses a topic that has been on my mind recently: government restrictions on alcohol consumption.

My interest in this topic was initially sparked two years ago when the deacon and I drove our camper into a state park in Pennsylvania and were greeted by a huge, in-your-face sign declaring that alcohol is prohibited in the park. Smaller, but similar, signs were scattered throughout the park. Clearly, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was not kidding. This interest was re-ignited on Memorial Day weekend when we attended a family gathering at a county park in Virginia and spotted a sign prohibiting alcohol consumption in that park. A few weeks later, we pulled into a Maryland state park and saw yet another sign announcing the same policy. As in Pennsylvania, similar signs were scattered throughout the park to ensure that errant campers and day-trippers would have no excuses for not being aware of the policy. If you’re a day-tripper enjoying a barbecue at a state park beach or county park pavilion, forget about having a beer with your hot dog and potato salad. If you’re a camper grilling a steak over a fire in a Maryland or Virginia or Pennsylvania state park (and many others – more states prohibit alcohol consumption in their parks than allow it), don’t even think about whether to pair it with Cabernet or Merlot. If you’re caught drinking booze, you’ll be thrown out of the park and fined.

In contrast to these outright bans on alcohol consumption, the Ontario Provincial Park we visited last week simply restricted alcohol consumption to camp sites. Campers could consume alcohol at their sites, but could not carry open containers between camp sites. We didn’t have to hide inside our camper to sneak a few sips of wine, but, if we wanted to share our bounty with the campers in the next site, we had to bring them pristine, unopened bottles, corks intact. Weird, but certainly preferable to an outright ban. Day-trippers using the beach or other facilities were not allowed to carry or consume alcohol in the park at all. Interestingly, this park (along with many other provincial parks across Canada) had a full ban on alcohol in mid-May, during the period immediately prior to and including Victoria Day (the Canadian “first weekend of summer,” similar to the USA’s Memorial Day). Similar bans are sometimes in effect for other long weekends, such as Labor Day, too. Presumably, the purpose of these bans is to curb excessive drunken partying as Canadians emerge from their long, cold winter into summer, and again as they prepare to re-enter another long, cold winter. Apparently, once the initial excitement of summer’s arrival dissipates, Canadian provincial park campers (but not day-trippers) can be trusted to moderate their drinking, at least until they are on the verge of re-entering winter hibernation season. Is it coincidental that publicly funded campgrounds across Canada are often full or nearly so, while many similar American campgrounds are not? How much of this disparity is due to cultural differences between the two countries, and how much is due to policy differences? Perhaps most intriguing of all, what are the relationships between the policy differences and the cultural differences within and between the two countries? I don’t know, but I think these questions merit investigation.

One may argue that banning alcohol consumption by day-trippers is a good policy. After all, no one wants people to imbibe excessively at the park, then drive home and endanger themselves, their passengers, and other travelers on the roads. One may argue that. But then, one would also have to argue that alcohol should not be served in most public venues. Restaurants? People often drive to and from those establishments. Sporting events? Again, people often drive to and from those venues. Are the people who frequent privately owned and operated establishments more responsible consumers than those who frequent public parks? I doubt it. So, my question is, why are governments, particularly throughout the USA, banning or restricting alcohol consumption in public spaces that are paid for by funds collected from the public?

Another rationale that might be put forward is that alcohol bans and restrictions reduce the need for park rangers and other personnel to deal with alcohol-fueled crises – fights, boat crashes, etc. This applies to day-trippers as well as overnight campers. My response to this is, since most people who imbibe do so responsibly, and do not create crises for park rangers or anyone else, this seems to be a case of punishing the whole class in order to discipline a few class clowns. Beer is not banned in baseball stadiums because stadium security guards have to escort a handful of rowdy drinkers from the park during any given game. Most people at ballgames drink responsibly (admittedly, people sitting in the vicinity of a drunken loudmouth may find this hard to believe). Similarly, most people who frequent government parks do not create problems for anyone. They should not be inconvenienced because a few troublemakers may be in their midst.

Yet another rationale that might be proffered is that parks should be family-friendly – alcohol-free places are more appropriate for families than those in which alcohol is being consumed. My response to this rationale is, many restaurants that serve alcohol are family-friendly: they have high chairs, booster seats, crayons and coloring sheets, and special kids’ menus available for those who require such amenities. Similarly, sports teams market to families all the time: celebrate Junior’s birthday at the ballpark – bring a glove to catch a foul ball or two, buy him a cap (although, if you come on Cap Day, we’ll give him one for free) – and don’t forget to have Junior’s name emblazoned on our state-of-the-art Jumbotron! That doesn’t stop them from selling alcohol to adults through the seventh inning. Hell, even amusement parks – the quintessential American family-friendly venues – serve alcohol. Clearly, the presence, visibility and consumption of alcohol do not, in themselves, render places or events inappropriate for minors.

And yet another rationale that some put forward is that drinking is immoral and/or unhealthy and restricting or banning it is good for individuals (even if they don’t know it) and society. Some of these people would ban alcohol entirely, if they could. In fact, they tried that last century, and the results were less than spectacular, to say the least.

So, why do publicly funded parks in a secular society ban or restrict alcohol consumption? Are such bans knee-jerk reactions of elected officials in a country in which religious conservatives have disproportionate influence? Are they vestiges of a bygone Prohibitionist era (which was largely fueled by religion)? I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that campgrounds in many publicly funded American parks are underutilized. Is this due, in part, to oppressive alcohol policies? Again, I don’t know. But, I think these questions and policies should be examined – preferably while not under the influences of either alcohol or religion.

– the chaplain

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