Horrific Law Proposed in New Hampshire Would Limit Artists’ Creativity on Canned Beer

I'm not normally one to write about politics or proposed bills. However, there is a bill being proposed in New Hampshire that I think would be detrimental to artists all over the Granite State.

According to a NHPR article:

Senate Bill 335 prohibits alcohol labels that include “cartoons, toys, robots, fictional animals or creatures” and other imagery that could be enticing for children. The goal, the bill’s description states, is to restrict “the use of certain images and phrasing in alcohol packaging that are attractive to minors,” and the bill directs the New Hampshire Liquor Commission to develop rules to enforce that.

In simple Logan words, you know the cool, graphic, animated beer cans that you see? Yeah, those may all go away under this bill.

This may not seem like a big deal to non-beer drinkers. It may even seem appealing, as at first glance the bill seems to protect our children. But in all reality, it does a lot more bad than good.

There are hundreds of breweries in New Hampshire, Maine, and really all of New England. Excluding different types and tastes, one of the ways breweries distinguish themselves apart from others is their can label.

Breweries often outsource this work to local artists. It is a 16 ounce, cylinder, CANvas. And now, some lawmakers are trying to tell those artists what they can and cannot put on it.

That is wrong.

Restricting artists goes against so much this country and this state stands for. We have the First Amendment for a reason. You know, freedom of speech. It also goes against Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression.

This bill hurts artists.

"Laura Bramley of Felina Design Co. in Portland – who uses the name Laura Felina for her artwork – has done more than 100 pieces of label art for Portland-based Definitive Brewing Co. over the past six or seven years," according to a Portland Press Herald article. "As a big music fan, she’s always admired album art and concert posters, and thinks beer label art is similar, since it helps tell a story and enhance the drinker’s (or listener’s) experience."

This bill hurts breweries' businesses.

“It’s a crowded market, the consumer won’t get to your beer if there’s not something compelling on the label,” said Katrina Matthews, marketing manager for Definitive, according to the Portland Press.

Whether you drink craft beer or not, this proposed bill would set a precedent restricting what artists can and cannot draw (especially on a 21+ canvas).

I will not support that, will you?