Underaged drinking in a home

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First, some background...

There was a tragic accident in our community last fall resulting in the death of two teenagers and injury to three others. They were at a party where drinking was taking place in the home, left for another party, and were returning to the first party at the time of the accident. The homeowners of the house of the first party have been charged with five assorted misdemeanor counts for allowing minors to drink in their home and trying to impede the investigation by covering up evidence of the party. Basically, they were charged to the full extent of existing law.

One of the area state Senators has introduced a bill that would --

Quote:

Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934. In a provision prohibiting a parent or guardian from knowingly authorizing or permitting any person under the age of 21 years from using alcoholic liquor by failing to control access to either the residence or the alcoholic liquor maintained in the residence, provides that where a violation of the provision directly or indirectly results in bodily harm to any person, the person violating this provision shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. Provides that nothing in the provision shall be construed to prohibit the giving of alcoholic liquor to a person under the age of 21 years in observation of a religious holiday (now, only a person under the age of 21 years in the performance of a religious ceremony or service). Effective immediately. SB 158

Am I correct in reading this that, if passed, this bill would essentially require that all alcohol in a home be kept under lock and key? How else could one 'control access to .... the alcoholic liquor maintained in the residence'?

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I found the text of the actual proposed legislation...

Quote:

(a-1) It is unlawful for any parent or guardian to permit
19 his or her residence to be used by an invitee of the parent's
20 child or the guardian's ward, if the invitee is under the age
21 of 21, in a manner that constitutes a violation of this
22 Section. A parent or guardian is deemed to have permitted his
23 or her residence to be used in violation of this Section if he
24 or she knowingly authorizes, enables, or permits such use to
25 occur by failing to control access to either the residence or
26 the alcoholic liquor maintained in the residence. Any person

SB0158 - 8 - LRB095 07392 KBJ 27534 b

1 who violates this subsection (a-1) is guilty of a Class A
2 misdemeanor and the person's sentence shall include, but shall
3 not be limited to, a fine of not less than $500. Where a
4 violation of this subsection (a-1) directly or indirectly
5 results in bodily harm to any person, the person violating this
6 subsection shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. Nothing in this
7 subsection (a-1) shall be construed to prohibit the giving of
8 alcoholic liquor to a person under the age of 21 years in the
9 performance of a religious ceremony or service or in
10 observation of a religious holiday.

In the case of the party here, the parents did not provide alcohol to anyone, but supposedly were aware (or should have been aware) that the kids were bringing alcohol into their house during the party. The story is that the party took place in the basement and the parents were at home at the time but not actually interacting with the kids.

Let me say that I DO NOT think allowing underage drinking in one's home is a good thing or even remotely OK. The wording of this bill, however, has me nervous if a parent is supposed to frisk every kid who enters their house in order to 'control access to either the residence or the alcoholic liquor maintained in the residence'.

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That does seem to be what it is saying and I have noticed an increase of lockable wine coolers and beverage centers in the past few years. Sub Zero even has a model that can be hooked up to your home alarm system.

I agree, short of going out and buying one of these units, which is not feasible for the majority of people, I don't see how else you are supposed to "control access" to the alcohol in your house.

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Re: Underaged drinking in a home

JPB wrote:

Am I correct in reading this that, if passed, this bill would essentially require that all alcohol in a home be kept under lock and key? How else could one 'control access to .... the alcoholic liquor maintained in the residence'?

The text you've provided says nothing about keeping liquor under lock and key. It also only requires that the people under 21 who are NOT children of the home owner's be denied access to the liquor. That doesn't seem like a very high hurdle to get over. If your kid is having a party in the basement you keep the liquor upstairs. Or locked in a pantry, locked room, etc... There is no specification listed as to te equality of any locks required (like they often do for firearms...) so as long as the parent could show a good faith effort I'd think most judges would dismiss any charges.

It also doesn't require that a parent go as far as frisking visitors. The parent can't "knowingly authorize" (i.e. tell their kid and the kid's friends that having alcohol is ok..) "enable" (i.e. get the alcohol for the kids and/or provide them with all of the mixers) or "permit" (i.e. ignore alcohol use in their home when they become aware of it or leave the house unsupervised.) such use.

Basically it makes it a crime for a someone to allow their house to be used for a party by underage kids. They can't host one, they can't wink at kids having one, they can't assist one in being hosted. I don't see this as a bad thing overall. The impact seems pretty limited.

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Re: Underaged drinking in a home

fishin wrote:

The text you've provided says nothing about keeping liquor under lock and key. It also only requires that the people under 21 who are NOT children of the home owner's be denied access to the liquor. That doesn't seem like a very high hurdle to get over. If your kid is having a party in the basement you keep the liquor upstairs. Or locked in a pantry, locked room, etc... There is no specification listed as to te equality of any locks required (like they often do for firearms...) so as long as the parent could show a good faith effort I'd think most judges would dismiss any charges.

It also doesn't require that a parent go as far as frisking visitors. The parent can't "knowingly authorize" (i.e. tell their kid and the kid's friends that having alcohol is ok..) "enable" (i.e. get the alcohol for the kids and/or provide them with all of the mixers) or "permit" (i.e. ignore alcohol use in their home when they become aware of it or leave the house unsupervised.) such use.

Basically it makes it a crime for a someone to allow their house to be used for a party by underage kids. They can't host one, they can't wink at kids having one, they can't assist one in being hosted. I don't see this as a bad thing overall. The impact seems pretty limited.

Thanks, fishin.

I don't see it as a bad thing overall either, but I'm stuck on the word 'control'. I also agree with the intent of the law, but want to make sure the wording doesn't create a situation that goes well beyond the intent. I don't have a locked pantry, cabinet, etc. and would have to haul any liquor in the house around with me in order to maintain 'control' of it while my kids have guests. Fortunately, I don't stock a bar or keep a wine cellar (which I suppose would come with a lock anyway) so the burden on me is minimal. But I'm not thinking in terms of me. I'm conflicted between the words 'knowingly' and 'failing to control'. Particularly as one is defined in terms of the other.

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Re: Underaged drinking in a home

JPB wrote:

don't see it as a bad thing overall either, but I'm stuck on the word 'control'. I also agree with the intent of the law, but want to make sure the wording doesn't create a situation that goes well beyond the intent. I don't have a locked pantry, cabinet, etc. and would have to haul any liquor in the house around with me in order to maintain 'control' of it while my kids have guests. Fortunately, I don't stock a bar or keep a wine cellar (which I suppose would come with a lock anyway) so the burden on me is minimal. But I'm not thinking in terms of me. I'm conflicted between the words 'knowingly' and 'failing to control'. Particularly as one is defined in terms of the other. I'm conflicted between the words 'knowingly' and 'failing to control'. Particularly as one is defined in terms of the other.

Yup. I thought about this quite a bit when I posted but as I parsed the sentences in the bill as listed I realized that the "knowlingly" part only applies to the "authorizes, enables, or permits" part. I don't think you'd have to "haul liquor around" unless you happen to store it in the room the kids are in. If you store it in the kitchen and the kids are in the basement, you could easily "control access" by making sure the kids don't come up into the kitchen and open the cabinet where it is stored. As long as the liquor or the room it is stored in remains under your visual control it meets the requirements of the bill.

The scenario that I ran through my head is a typical family of 5 where the parents go off for a weekend vacation and their 18 or 19 year old child stays home and, as so many of us did in our younger years Wink

, has a party on Saturday night.

If the liquor is locked up in anyway then the parents are covered. If they told their child that no one was allowed in the house while they were gone they are probably covered (they would have specifically disallowed any party in the house then so they couldn't have knowlingly permitted or enabled one...) as well. The effort required on the part of the parents is pretty minimal.

I don't have a pantry or cabinet with built-in locks either. The buffet where I store liquor however, does have handles on the door and with the addition of a $15 bicycle lock it could be secured enough to meet the requirements of this bill. If someone really wanted in to the buffet they could be in in a matter of minutes but I'd be covered.

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This bill was on the agenda of our Village Board meeting last night. It seems that our village was asked to approve a resolution in support of the bill. The request for the resolution came from officials of the home community of the bill sponsor.

Our Board consists of six Trustees, three of whom are attorneys. The chief of police voiced strong support for the resolution, but the attorneys on the Board were stuck on the exact wording that bothered me. That is, 'failure to control access' equates to permitting use. The attorneys stated that not only would the bill (as written) require all alcohol be kept under lock and key, but that if the parents are out of the house for the evening and a teen (friend) brings alcohol into the house while the parents are out, then the parents have failed to control access to the home and are therefore liable. The resolution was tabled for further discussion.

After posting here, I sent an email to the bill sponsor telling her my concerns with the wording -- not the concept. It took a few back-and-forth discussions before she saw where I was coming from (including a hypothetical situation where an invited underage guest helps himself to the beer in the fridge while walking through the kitchen). She told me there is no intent to have all alcohol kept under lock and key, but she was unable to tell me how else one could 'control access' short of sitting vigil in any room where teens are likely to enter. Her last comment to me was, "Good point" and a promise to discuss it with the legal dept of the state legislature.

I haven't heard anything yet, but I found it interesting that others have the same concerns with the wording, even though we all support the intent.

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If you raise your children properly they won't get into your things. I leave my liquor, cocaine, pot and works lying right out in the open..... and they never touch any of it. That's good parenting.

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yeah, I have what limited alcohol we keep in a kitchen cabinet and my kids wouldn't think of touching it. It's not my kids I'm worried about. Actually, it's not me I'm worried about at all. I just want to make sure the wording of the bill doesn't create a situation where someone gets nailed because their kid's friends lifted a bottle of wine and a six-pack of beer out of the fridge and end up in an accident.

Speaking of leaving everything out in the open... A neighbor's son went to his friends house and noticed a dozen lines of coke on the entryway table. When he asked the friend what was going on, the friend shrugged and explained that his parents were getting ready to host a party that night.

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JPB wrote:

I found the text of the actual proposed legislation...

Quote:
(a-1) It is unlawful for any parent or guardian to permit
19 his or her residence to be used by an invitee of the parent's
20 child or the guardian's ward, if the invitee is under the age
21 of 21, in a manner that constitutes a violation of this
22 Section. A parent or guardian is deemed to have permitted his
23 or her residence to be used in violation of this Section if he
24 or she knowingly authorizes, enables, or permits such use to
25 occur by failing to control access to either the residence or
26 the alcoholic liquor maintained in the residence. Any person

SB0158 - 8 - LRB095 07392 KBJ 27534 b

1 who violates this subsection (a-1) is guilty of a Class A
2 misdemeanor and the person's sentence shall include, but shall
3 not be limited to, a fine of not less than $500. Where a
4 violation of this subsection (a-1) directly or indirectly
5 results in bodily harm to any person, the person violating this
6 subsection shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony. Nothing in this
7 subsection (a-1) shall be construed to prohibit the giving of
8 alcoholic liquor to a person under the age of 21 years in the
9 performance of a religious ceremony or service or in
10 observation of a religious holiday.

In the case of the party here, the parents did not provide alcohol to anyone, but supposedly were aware (or should have been aware) that the kids were bringing alcohol into their house during the party. The story is that the party took place in the basement and the parents were at home at the time but not actually interacting with the kids.

Let me say that I DO NOT think allowing underage drinking in one's home is a good thing or even remotely OK. The wording of this bill, however, has me nervous if a parent is supposed to frisk every kid who enters their house in order to 'control access to either the residence or the alcoholic liquor maintained in the residence'.

This case is back in the news as the parents have been found guilty of allowing teens to drinking in their home.

The wording of the final bill awaiting the Governor's signature is:

Quote:

(a-1) It is unlawful for any parent or guardian to
19 knowingly permit his or her residence to be used by an invitee
20 of the parent's child or the guardian's ward, if the invitee is
21 under the age of 21, in a manner that constitutes a violation
22 of this Section. A parent or guardian is deemed to have
23 knowingly permitted his or her residence to be used in
24 violation of this Section if he or she knowingly authorizes,
25 enables, or permits consumption of alcoholic liquor by underage
26 invitees.

SB0158 Enrolled - 8 - LRB095 07392 KBJ 27534 b
1 (reference to controlling access deleted)
2 Any person who violates this subsection (a-1) is
3 guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and the person's sentence shall
4 include, but shall not be limited to, a fine of not less than
5 $500. Where a violation of this subsection (a-1) directly or
6 indirectly results in great bodily harm or death to any person,
7 the person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a Class
8 4 felony. Nothing in this subsection (a-1) shall be construed
9 to prohibit the giving of alcoholic liquor to a person under
10 the age of 21 years in the performance of a religious ceremony
11 or service in observation of a religious holiday.
12 (b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section whoever
13 violates this Section shall, in addition to other penalties
14 provided for in this Act, be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
15 (c) Any person shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor
16 where he or she knowingly permits a gathering at a residence
17 which he or she occupies of two or more persons where any one
18 or more of the persons is under 21 years of age and the
19 following factors also apply:
20 (1) the person occupying the residence knows that any
21 such person under the age of 21 is in possession of or is
22 consuming any alcoholic beverage; and
23 (2) the possession or consumption of the alcohol by the
24 person under 21 is not otherwise permitted by this Act; and
25 (3) the person occupying the residence knows that the
26 person under the age of 21 leaves the residence in an

SB0158 Enrolled - 9 - LRB095 07392 KBJ 27534 b

1 intoxicated condition. Full Text

I'm glad to see the definition of "permit" = "failure to control access" was removed.

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When I was a teenager we went to home alcohol parties all the time. I don't recall any parents ever getting in trouble or accidents. The accidents happened when the kids went off to some remote spot to drink then had to find their way home.

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Underaged drinking in a home

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