The ban on the sale of single beers keeps marching on, so it seems.

On Tuesday, the D.C. Council approved legislation that bans the sale of single beers in Ward 6, Ward 2 and part of Ward 1. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who sponsored the measure, had this to say in a statement:

“Over the last year, I heard increasingly from neighborhood leaders and our elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners that they wanted Ward 6 added to the growing list of wards prohibiting the sale of singles,” commented Mr. Wells. Wards 4, 7 and 8 have previously enacted similar bans on single sales. The legislation passed on Tuesday adds Ward 6, Ward 2 and parts of Ward 1.

“More often than not, single sales of alcohol are bought so they can be consumed as soon as you walk out the door – turning alleys and backyards into public restrooms and leaving empty bottles strewn through our neighborhoods,” stated Wells

Like earlier bans on single sales enacted in various neighborhoods, ANCs can grant exemptions to the rule, much like Logan Circle has for Whole Foods. (A good lesson for an elected official — don’t come between a voter and his 22-ounce bottle of Belgian Trappist ale.)

Interestingly, the part of Ward 1 included in the legislation — Mt. Pleasant — has actually voted against the imposition of such a ban. In early September, ANC 1D, which covers Mt. Pleasant, voted unanimously on a resolution calling for the Council to remove the neighborhood from the legislation. In the resolution, the ANC commissioners noted that the ban “merely causes these Chronic Public Inebriates to take their unpleasant behavior into adjacent neighborhoods, where there is no ban.” One commissioner, Jack McKay, has become something of a champion of doing away with such bans, much to the chagrin of some of his constituents. (If you have the time, just read through the extended discussion on the issue in this Mt. Pleasant online forum.)