You know, I bet you are right. What are bars (or restaurants that serve alcohol, for that matter) supposed to do if someone comes in sober, and they ultimately cut him off when s/he appears drunk? Are they responsible? Don't get me wrong...drunk drivers...well, let's say I have no polite words for what I think of that. I still believe in personal responsibility, and holding tavern owners responsible in the scenario I brought up makes me pretty mad. Serving someone who comes in drunk, just to make a buck is pretty irresponsible, and probably should be punished in some way, though, imo.
I used to work in a restaurant/bar. Its often tough to tell when someone is having a good time vs. being drunk. This is especially true when you have a group of people, getting served pitchers of drinks, with lots of laughing and horsing around. This is putting way too much burden on the often overworked, servers. Are they supposed to have masters degrees in psychology, with hidden cameras monitoring the customers? Also, who is going to want to frequent a bar staffed by safety Nazis? No fun of any kind.
BS. The guy, or girl, drinking is the one responsible not the person selling the booze. What if I bought rat poison and then killed several people with it? Do you think the store that sold it to me should be sued? This is the same type of thinking. Lawyers start this kind of crap so they can make money. The bars have deep pockets ( so they think) so lets get them! This is the same thing that motivated the law suits against tobacco, firearms, and any other "dangerous" item that you can think of. MONEY, and the liberal penchant fot not making people responsible for their own actions. It is always somone else's fault.
Serving someone who comes in drunk, just to make a buck is pretty irresponsible, and probably should be punished in some way, though, imo.