Illegal to Possess Alcohol in Some Mississippi Counties

5:59 AM vjack

English: Breckenridge, Colorado liquor store. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have lived in a "dry county" in Mississippi for several years now. I know that means that I cannot purchase alcohol without driving to a reasonably sane county to do so. What I did not realize until a few days ago is that merely possessing alcohol in a dry county is a criminal offense, punishable by up to 90 days in jail or a $500 fine. The law in question is Sec. 67-3-13 of the Mississippi Code.

Believe it or not, this law is actually enforced. In a recent post over at Atheist Revolution, I describe how I saw "possession of beer/wine in a dry county" listed among the charges on which someone was recently arrested not too far from where I live.

Preventing anyone in our state from buying alcoholic beverages on Sundays or prohibiting residents of "dry counties" from buying beer without having to drive a distance is not enough for the Southern Baptists who run our state. Apparently, it is also a criminal offense merely to possess beer or wine in a dry county.

Evidently, news that prohibition was repealed over 75 years ago has not yet reached Mississippi. This law needs to change.