Legalize Hobby Distilling in Texas

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Tin4

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We have to start somewhere to get hobby distilling legalized and the great state of Texas is a great place to start.

I recently spoke with Rick of the Hobby Distillers Association about what we could do to help get legislation passed to legalize home distilling in Texas. It takes six weeks for a letter to reach a senator in DC, so I would recommend sending this via email if you're interested in participating.

The Letter from Rick Morris explaining,

Hello,

As you know by now if you have been watching the updates on the Hobby Distiller's Association's progress, we have made great strides toward legalizing hobby distilling in America. I have personally gone to Washington on three occasions, and have met with both of our Texas Senators- Sen. Cruz and Sen. Cornyn- and my House Representative- Rep. Burgess. In addition, our lobbyist and I have had a meeting with the TTB, Treasury Dept., and Senate Finance Committee.

The HDA worked together with legislative counsel to draft a Bill that would legalize home distilling as a hobby, giving it parity with home brewing and winemaking. After his show of support in our first meeting, and the relatively positive outcome of our meeting with the TTB, I formally requested that Senator Cornyn take the lead and sponsor our Bill. On my latest trip to DC we had a follow up meeting with Sen. Cornyn's office, who confirmed that the Senator is still considering our request, but has not yet made a decision on the matter. Texans are now in a great position to be responsible for helping legalize hobby distilling!

To this point Senator Cornyn has heard almost exclusively from me. We need to change that, and it will take only a minute of your time! Keith, our representative in DC wrote the letter below to for us to ask Sen. Cornyn to help us. Please copy the letter below, or you can download a copy as a Word document from www.hobbydistillersassociation.org/Downloads/Request-to-Senator-Cornyn.docx or www.hobbydistillersassociation.org/Downloads/Request-to-Senator-Cornyn.zip.

Texas- here is your opportunity! Copy this letter, add your name and address (don't forget to add your name in the signature portion), and send it to Sen. Cornyn's office. You can use the contact form at http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm. You can also mail a copy to his office, but postal mail can take several weeks to be received due to the intense screening process. Screening may be less intense if sending it to a local office, but I cannot be sure. If you are feeling especially productive, feel free to send it through their contact form and mail a copy, but whatever you do, please do not let this opportunity slide by. We are getting close- let's get it done!

Regards,

Rick Morris

and of course, the actual letter itself.

Proposed letter to Senator Cornyn:

Your Name
Your Address

Date

Dear Senator Cornyn,

As a constituent and member of the Hobby Distillers’ Association (HDA), I am writing to ask that you sponsor legislation legalizing the practice of at-home, hobbyist distillation of spirits.

I’m sure you are well aware that home-based production of beer and wine have been legal for years. This same situation, however, does not apply to at-home, hobbyist distillation of spirits.

Throughout my discussions with other HDA members, as well as various other members of my local community, we can discern no good reason for this disparity.

Home-based, hobbyist distillers are professionals who come from a variety of walks of life, and are invariably upstanding members of our own communities. We should not be relegated to the shadows.

Additionally, legalizing hobbyist distilling is an affirmative step in promoting economic growth and increasing employment opportunities. Consider what happened with home brewing. Hobbyists skilled enough at producing a quality product found an outlet for their talent, creativity and personal passion, generating an industry that was previously unheard of. Now, one can’t go to the grocery store without seeing entire sections dedicated to craft and micro brews. There is no reason to believe the same thing won’t happen with home distilling.

Consequently, I respectfully request that you do the same thing for Texas hobbyist distillers by providing equal treatment before the law, and allowing this new industry to flourish in our great State.

Senator Cornyn, please sponsor legislation legalizing at-home, hobbyist distillation of spirits.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Your Name

You can send your own personal letter, or use this one. We understand time is an issue, but anyhting you can do to help push the agenda of legalized home distilling in Texas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading guys!
 
If you live in Texas and can help please do!
 
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