Making Liquor at Home May Become Legal Soon — Here’s Why

A Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas struck down a 156-year-old home distilling ban. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The Daily Caller reported on Friday that a federal judge’s ruling in Texas might overturn a 156-year-old law prohibiting home distilling. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, a Donald Trump appointee, ruled that the law against home distillation was unconstitutional in that it gave Congress too much power.

“We’re pleased to see that the court determined that the home distilling ban is unconstitutional — and that it blocked enforcement of the ban against our clients,” Competitive Enterprise Institute General Counsel Dan Greenberg said, according to the Daily Caller. “More broadly, the court’s decision reminds us that, as Americans, we live under a government of limited powers.”

Judge Pittman claimed the law gave Congress too much sway and blocked the ban on distilling homemade liquor, which sentences those in violation of the law to $10,000 in fines or five years of jail time.

Fox reported that Pittman’s ruling came after The Hobby Distillers Association sued the TTB and the Department of Justice to fight the ban in December. The DOJ argued that the ban was meant to protect government revenue through taxing spirits, according to Reuters.

“While prohibiting the possession of an at-home still meant to distill beverage alcohol might be convenient to protect tax revenue on spirits, it is not a sufficiently clear corollary to the positive power of laying and collecting taxes,” Pittman wrote in his ruling.

Reuters reported that Pittman expressed that Congress’ argument about using the ban to oversee commerce between states was a moot point, as Congress has ignored other aspects of the liquor industry. Chiefly, the judge argued that the law overstepped Congress’ power.

“Indeed, the Constitution is written to prevent societal amnesia of the defined limits it places on this government of and by the people,” Pittman explained.”That is where the judiciary must declare when its coequal branches overstep their Constitutional authority. Congress has done so here.”

The justice gave the government 14 days to take the ruling to the appellate courts.

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