Gary, IN Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 28-130(b)(4) of the Gary Municipal Code makes it unlawful to "Consume alcoholic beverages in or around any public grounds, ways, alleys, sidewalks, streets, street corners, yards, abandoned buildings, parking lots, or commercial premises," with two narrow carve-outs: private homes, and licensed premises holding a valid state alcoholic beverage commission permit for keeping, manufacturing or selling alcohol. The provision traces back to Code 1960 §§ 10-1801, 10-1802 and was last amended by Ord. No. 5110 in 1975, and it is grouped under Article V, Offenses Against Public Peace and Order, alongside loitering in public buildings, obstructing public grounds and ways, and loitering on commercial premises.

Because the alcohol clause is written as one of the article's loitering violations, an officer can cite a person drinking on a Gary sidewalk, in a parking lot, or in an abandoned building without needing a separate open-container ordinance. The city's own fee schedule at § 2-342(a) lists a specific municipal-offense fine of $20.00 for "Drinking in public property," payable within ten days of the citation at the city clerk's office under § 2-341(a). If the fine and costs are not paid within that window, the person must appear in city court under § 2-341(b), and anyone cited for the same offense more than twice must also appear in court per § 2-341(d).

Absent a specific fine, the Code's general penalty at § 1-7(c)(1) caps a first-offense municipal violation at $2,500.00 and a second or subsequent offense at $7,500.00, with each continuing violation treated as a separate offense per day under § 1-7(c)(2).