The author of the first public drinking law, in 1979, said on the law's purpose:
>"We do not recklessly expect the police to give a summons to a Con Ed worker having a beer with his lunch". [0]
Yet today, if you have a beer in the park at lunch you will get ticketed, or at least a warning. The lesson? Do not rely on discretion and restraint to make up for an overly expansive letter-of-the-law.
They are pointing out that the codified law is applicable, not what you claim was the original purpose.
(I don't agree with you that the original purpose was restricted to protecting revenue. The original purpose of copyright law is to codify the moral rights associated with creative works. Moral rights are fundamentally a property right connecting the work to the person. When we hear that an artist tries to prevent their works being distorted by being associated with a certain political campaign, this is an appeal to this kind of right, not revenue.)
>"We do not recklessly expect the police to give a summons to a Con Ed worker having a beer with his lunch". [0]
Yet today, if you have a beer in the park at lunch you will get ticketed, or at least a warning. The lesson? Do not rely on discretion and restraint to make up for an overly expansive letter-of-the-law.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_New_York#cite_...