DK, this is beginning to be a "to-may-to/to-mah-to" debate. I think that they're encouraging bars to make sure that they don't overserve anyone. You think that they're discouraging people to drink in bars. What they're doing is making sure that people don't get drunk in bars. Can we agree on that? If the two of us go to our favorite Dallas watering hole and have a couple of beers apiece over a couple of hours and the TABC walks through, we're fine (unless you're acting "erratic" by spouting off about gun rights and the impending revolution
). Now if we pound down 10 shots each in 10 minutes, we're going to have a problem. And you know what, the bar shouldn't have served us since that's dangerous for us and those around us (especially whoever sitting near me, since I promise that I'd puke under these circumstances).
Let me get this straight - when it comes to guns, you don't want the government to pass any new laws but just enforce the ones on the books. However, when it comes to drinking, you don't want them to enforce the ones on the books but write new ones instead. Alcohol kills more people in the US than all the guns worldwide (ok, I made that stat up, but I'll be its close). If I overserve you at a party at my home and you go out and kill someone while driving, I'm potentially liable as the server. There's a reason to enforce the laws.