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Some restaurants and servers in the state might start taking a harder look at IDs when serving alcohol.
A bill, which is now in the Virginia General Assembly, would make it a misdemeanor crime for individuals such as store clerks and waiters to not ask for identification when serving alcohol.
The bill has passed the House of Delegates and the Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved it on Friday. To become a law, it must be approved by the Senate overall and then signed by the governor.
The bill is aimed to make the individual server responsible for checking IDs instead of just the businesses that are selling the alcohol.
Currently, if a business or individual sells alcohol to someone they have “reason to believe” is under 21, they could be charged with a class one misdemeanor and face up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine. This law would increase the crime to a class three misdemeanor for failing to check an ID altogether.
Chris Head, R-Botetourt County, introduced the bill after the Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition approached him regarding the issue. If passed, the offense would carry a maximum penalty of $500.
Kathy Graham Sullivan, RAYSAC director, said that although it may seem like the bill is meant to affect college towns, it’s not targeted at any specific population.
“It’s a community effort to reduce underage drinking,” Sullivan said. “The bill puts the burden of proof back on the servers or the clerk."
Sullivan also hopes it will discourage servers in college communities from looking the other way when serving alcohol to a friend.
"That won't be happening any more," she said. "They can't."
Brendan King, a waiter at a local restaurant and Tech student, understands the importance of checking, IDs but thinks the legislation may be a little out of touch with college students.
"I understand the reasoning behind the bill, but I feel like if underage teens want to drink, they will find others ways to obtain alcohol," he said.
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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Great, let's make life even harder for small businesses in order to pursue this quasi-prohibitionist agenda. (The drinking age already makes the USA an international laughingstock.)
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I don't see the connection between reducing "underage" drinking and penalizing individual servers. Those servers presumably aren't underage and drinking and the likelihood of catching more people simply because it will be MANDATORY to check IDs is fairly low. People get fake ids all the time and people buy alcohol for underage kids all the time. This is the wrong solution for a dubious "problem."
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This underage drinking prohibition is a big joke... Puritanism at its best, congrats "Youth Substance Abuse Coalition"! Like in other countries without minimum drinking age, kids become alcoholics (whereas in the US they supposedly haven't drunk till 21- at bars, cause anywhere else people drink their asses off).
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As an owner of a bar I would like to offer my thoughts on this bill. 1) When will we see tougher laws against the underage people that are trying to purchase alcohol and those using fake IDs? 2) Our bar received a violation for serving an underage person several months ago. It was an ABC sting operation and the only person under my employment ABC talked to was the girl who checked the ID, did the math wrong, and served the under. She received a $125 fine. My restaurant received a $5,000 fine and every member of my 25 person staff has to attend a 4 hour training session. I don't think the current laws are fair towards bars/restaurants as it is. We are at the mercy of our employees and if someone wanted to screw us over they very easily could.
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Educating the public about the issue of underage drinking is critical. Arguing that youth are going to drink regardless is not the answer. Underage drinking is a health issue. The average age now reported for the initiation of drinking alcohol is twelve years old. Most youth do not report excessive drinking on a regular basis, but nearly 20% of 12 to 20 year olds report binge drinking (having 4 to 5 drinks in a row). We know that there are many risk factors associated with underage drinking such as academic and social problems, homicides and suicides, depression, and risky sexual behavior. Also, it is the leading contributor to injury death, and the main cause of death for youth under the age of 21. But, what are the effects of alcohol on brain development?
The American Medical Association reports that alcohol can seriously damage the long and short term growth process of the brain. Youth who drink can have a significant reduction in learning and memory, and teen alcohol users are most susceptible to damaging two key brain areas that are undergoing dramatic changes in adolescence: The hippocampus (handles many types of memory and learning), and the prefrontal area (undergoes the most change during adolescence).
Prevention Coalitions across Virginia work diligently to educate and mobilize our communities about these dangers and health risks. Our legislators should be commended for taking action to address the serious health consequences and resulting societal costs of underage drinking. Working together we can make a difference and perhaps save a life
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