Judge Overturns 156-Year Ban on Home Distilling

(DailyVantage.com) – Moonshine makers might be making merry soon following the ruling of a federal judge that overturns the more-than-a-century-and-a-half-old prohibition on distilling one’s own alcohol.

According to the ruling, which was issued by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, the ban on home distillation of alcohol and spirits – a ban that has been in place for 156 years – was a violation of the Commerce Clause included in the U.S. Constitution and was an overreach of the taxing authority of Congress.

“Congress and the (U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) have not been playing by the rules of government,” read a section of Judge Pittman’s ruling.

The decision effectively sided with the Hobby Distillers Association, who submitted the motion for the ban to be rescinded. The Hobby Distillers Association (HDA) is a 1,600-strong organization whose advocacy it is to legalize the production and distillation of alcoholic beverages such as bourbon and whiskey as long as they are only made for personal use and consumption. Four of the organization’s members were the first to bring the ban to court, suing the government for the practice, saying that the government regulation on alcohol effectively encroaches on activities conducted within private property.

The organization and its lawyers lauded the ruling, saying that represented an important American tenet of living under a “government of limited powers.”

The decision from Judge Pittman includes a permanent injunction that bars U.S. authorities from enforcing the ban. However, the magistrate also stayed his decision for a 14-day period to allow the government time to bring the ruling to the appellate court and seek a stay on the overturning of the ban.

Before the ban was overturned, violators could be punished with a prison sentence of up to five years, as well as fines that could go as high as $10,000. Proponents of the ban said that it was in place ostensibly to protect the taxes that can be collected from distilled alcoholic spirits, but the HDA said that their members were not seeking profits or the ability to sell, but rather an opportunity “to pursue a harmless hobby at home without fearing legal consequences.”