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austin
Joined: Jan 1st 1991, 12:00 am

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 12:11 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • For those of you that run or play in organized leagues across the country, this thread pertains to you.  In case you don't already know, a State Senator in Maryland sponsored a bill that was intended to ban beer pong and other drinking games from Baltimore City. The exact language of the bill was:
     
    [Bars] MAY NOT PROMOTE, ENCOURAGE, OR ALLOW ON THE PREMISES A GAME COMMONLY KNOWN AS BEER PONG OR ANY OTHER GAME OR CONTEST THAT INVOLVES DRINKING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES OR THE AWARDING OF DRINKS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AS PRIZES.
     
    I knew this day would come and we were ready to combat this attack on the sport we know and love. We spread the word to the Maryland Beer Pong community, bar owners, and like minded constituents to contact their State Senators and voice their opinion on the issue. We also contacted local news papers with our plea.  
     
    It is with great satisfaction that I report to you that our campaign succeeded. Apparently, the Senator was so overwhelmed from the backlash over the bill that it was withdrawn earlier today. This is a major victory for beer pong, not just in Maryland, but all over the country.
     
    I encourage all of you to take notice of this and realize that it could very easily take place in your State or City.  In Maryland, we've worked extremely hard to make sure that our rules and ways of doing business are amenable to those outside the beer pong community.  We won this round, but we'll redoubtably have to fight again to save our sport.
     
    From the trenches - Austin
     

     
justpongit
Joined: Apr 18th 2007, 08:15 pm

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 12:43 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • i'm curious to read what was said in other e-mails. I already read Austin's and Dean's. Here's mine:
     

    Senator Della,
     
    My name is Stephane Bertrand and I am writing to you concerning a recently proposed bill that I was made aware of today. This is Senate Bill 233 applicable to Baltimore City that states: (insert part of bill about beer pong..for some reason won't let me post on here the way i had it typed)
      
    I am currently a resident of Baltimore County but I play beer pong in bars located in Baltimore City. I feel it necessary to write to you because I play this game at least 3-4 times a week. This game has evolved into something more than just a basement fraternity drinking game. There are currently highly organized leagues that run tournaments and take great measures to make sure that things do not get out of hand. Tournaments have even been held in the name of charities to donate to worthwhile causes such as breast cancer research and pet adoption agencies. The negative stigma attached to beer pong stems from isolated incidents that could have easily been provoked regardless minus the drinking game aspect. Alcohol can affect your judgment no matter what activity you are participating in. It may be surprising to you that most bars that I have played beer pong in do not even have beer poured in the cups used for play. Water is used and participants have the option of drinking on the side as they would regularly or not drinking at all. Participants are never forced to consume alcoholic beverages by the bar owners or league organizers while playing beer pong. This is all due to the fact that beer pong, although it has the word "beer" in its name, has become more than just a drinking game. It has become highly competitive and is even regarded as a sport by those who take it seriously. Aside from the competitiveness, there is a social factor to the game as well. You will rarely find the stereotypical belligerent college kid screaming obscenities at these events. You will find young professionals such as myself who come to have a good time with their peers and engage in harmless competitive fun. At the same time I am not naive to the other side of my demographic spectrum. I am fully aware that you will also find those participants that get out of hand but the same could be said for any bar patron and the bar has staff to deal with such people. With a ban proposed, it could potentially eliminate countless revenue for bars in the city as the popularity of beer pong continues to increase rapidly and force patrons to take their business elsewhere. The correlation between alcohol consumption and beer pong is the same as alcohol consumption between any other bar game such as pool, darts, etc. I hope that the powers that be see that the problem is not the game itself but just isolated incidents where people find themselves making the wrong decisions while under the influence of alcohol. I appreciate you taking the time to read this e-mail and I hope this has given you some small insight into the feelings which I am sure are shared by the majority of the people who play this game.
  • Last edited on Feb 11th, 12:45 pm
mmorga5
Joined: Sep 10th 2006, 01:06 am

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 12:56 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • Here's the article the Baltimore Sun wrote about the city dropping the bill:
     
    http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/ … 9586.story
     
    From the Senator himself - "We're getting inundated with so many e-mails that I don't have the time to fool with it"
     
    Good job everyone for flooding his mailbox
     
    - Matty Mo
dwissbrun2
Joined: Nov 15th 2006, 10:36 pm

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 01:30 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • well done maryland
dub
Joined: Jan 1st 1991, 12:00 am

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 01:47 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • Nicely done, guys.
     
    It's good to know that government is worried about fucking beer pong instead of dealing with lesser crimes such as murder and what not.
gman17
Joined: Aug 21st 2007, 10:43 pm

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 01:48 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • Great job guys!
dwissbrun2
Joined: Nov 15th 2006, 10:36 pm

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 01:53 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • "dub"
    Nicely done, guys.
     
    It's good to know that government is worried about fucking beer pong instead of dealing with lesser crimes such as murder and what not.

    or that kooky thing they keep referring to as the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression
  • Last edited on Feb 11th, 01:54 pm
austin
Joined: Jan 1st 1991, 12:00 am

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bryand
Joined: May 19th 2008, 11:09 pm

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  • Quote

    Posted: Feb 11th, 03:22 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • I am quite thankful that Austin represents the great state of Maryland. There are simply no words to express my gratitude for having such a professionally run community where we can have a good time and hone our skills.
     
    Your letter to Senator Della was concise, to the point, and effective. Thank you.
     
    Hopefully lawmakers learn from the backlash that Senator Della received and think twice before attempting to pass another piece of legislation as inane as Senate Bill 233. As we are dealing with politicians, though, I'm sure it is only a matter of time before the issue rears its ugly head again.
     
    - Bryan
     

     
duncan
Joined: Jan 1st 1991, 12:00 am

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    Posted: Feb 11th, 04:45 pm
    Post subject: Proposed Beer Pong Ban in Baltimore City

  • Austin & Co:  Nice job squashing this bill, way to represent the sport.  We all breathed a sigh of relief Well
     

     
    This just in, democracy actually works sometimes...
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