Let's see if you guys can help...

[Steve C]

Just to give you a little background I am a 20 year old Junior in college. Obviously, like many of my student peers, I drink my fair share of alcohol throughout the week. Nothing crazy, but I do indulge in a few beverages here and there. Anyways, heres the deal.

 

A few days ago my buddy and I were talking and he brought up this discussion. He informed me that even though we are underage, we could still technically drink legally in public places. He went onto say that, if a parent/guardian were to buy an alcoholic beverage for their son/daughter at a bar/restaurant, that the underage person could consume it and not worry about breaking the law.

 

Now I've tried to find this in writing online because my mom does not believe me, but I cant seem to find anything. I was wondering if any of you are professionals in law or have a liquor license and would know if my friends allegations have any legs.

 

Thanks guys!

[Jim in Anchorage]

Just to give you a little background I am a 20 year old Junior in college. Obviously, like many of my student peers, I drink my fair share of alcohol throughout the week. Nothing crazy, but I do indulge in a few beverages here and there. Anyways, heres the deal.

 

A few days ago my buddy and I were talking and he brought up this discussion. He informed me that even though we are underage, we could still technically drink legally in public places. He went onto say that, if a parent/guardian were to buy an alcoholic beverage for their son/daughter at a bar/restaurant, that the underage person could consume it and not worry about breaking the law.

 

Now I've tried to find this in writing online because my mom does not believe me, but I cant seem to find anything. I was wondering if any of you are professionals in law or have a liquor license and would know if my friends allegations have any legs.

 

Thanks guys!

Trust your mom.

[stuckincincy]

Just to give you a little background I am a 20 year old Junior in college. Obviously, like many of my student peers, I drink my fair share of alcohol throughout the week. Nothing crazy, but I do indulge in a few beverages here and there. Anyways, heres the deal.

 

A few days ago my buddy and I were talking and he brought up this discussion. He informed me that even though we are underage, we could still technically drink legally in public places. He went onto say that, if a parent/guardian were to buy an alcoholic beverage for their son/daughter at a bar/restaurant, that the underage person could consume it and not worry about breaking the law.

 

Now I've tried to find this in writing online because my mom does not believe me, but I cant seem to find anything. I was wondering if any of you are professionals in law or have a liquor license and would know if my friends allegations have any legs.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Seemingly, it's legal here in OH. It comes up from time to time on the call-in talk radio AM show here in Cincinnati.

 

But these are increasingly intolerant times...young people snogging in a car getting put on sex offender lists, cigarette smoking equated with violent assault, certain foods being attacked by the State, possession of certain amounts of cash bringing an assumption of drug dealings, people getting thrown into jail for leaving a kid in a car to go buy a newspaper from a box and the like.

 

If that drink were bought, and you consumed it, be prepared for trouble, legal or not - a patron in high dudgeon calling a police force and them arresting your parents, or the merchant tossing you out in fear of being charged with criminal behavior (and if not, having to spend time and money fighting a D.A. bent on shining his star).

[Jim in Anchorage]

I think you and your mom would be sharing the backseat of my patrol car.

I think you said it better than I ever could.

[BuckyFillUps]

I think you and your mom would be sharing the backseat of my patrol car.

 

 

ewwwwww

[KD in CA]

I think you and your mom would be sharing the backseat of my patrol car.

 

 

I was gonna say that the only reason you wouldn't get arrested is because the cops would be too busy busting your mom (and having a long chat with the restaurant manager), but Felix's answer is far better.

[PearlHowardman]

In Wisconsin you could be 16 and drink legally in a restaurant/bar if you are accompanied by an adult. DWI checkpoints are illegal in Wisconsin.

 

I read this in a NY Times article about a month ago.

 

When I was growing up the drinking age here in NYS was 18. Buying beer at the age of 16 was very common. ID checks back then were rare. It was easy to use someone else's drivers license, or actually change the date of birth on your own. They didn't have photos on them.

 

You and society are a lot better off with a 21 minimum drinking age.

[Cheeseburger_in_paradise]

Seemingly, it's legal here in OH. It comes up from time to time on the call-in talk radio AM show here in Cincinnati.

 

But these are increasingly intolerant times...young people snogging in a car getting put on sex offender lists, cigarette smoking equated with violent assault, certain foods being attacked by the State, possession of certain amounts of cash bringing an assumption of drug dealings, people getting thrown into jail for leaving a kid in a car to go buy a newspaper from a box and the like.

 

If that drink were bought, and you consumed it, be prepared for trouble, legal or not - a patron in high dudgeon calling a police force and them arresting your parents, or the merchant tossing you out in fear of being charged with criminal behavior (and if not, having to spend time and money fighting a D.A. bent on shining his star).

 

So very true. I wouldn't leave it to cop to know the law though.

[Cheeseburger_in_paradise]

Just to give you a little background I am a 20 year old Junior in college. Obviously, like many of my student peers, I drink my fair share of alcohol throughout the week. Nothing crazy, but I do indulge in a few beverages here and there. Anyways, heres the deal.

 

A few days ago my buddy and I were talking and he brought up this discussion. He informed me that even though we are underage, we could still technically drink legally in public places. He went onto say that, if a parent/guardian were to buy an alcoholic beverage for their son/daughter at a bar/restaurant, that the underage person could consume it and not worry about breaking the law.

 

Now I've tried to find this in writing online because my mom does not believe me, but I cant seem to find anything. I was wondering if any of you are professionals in law or have a liquor license and would know if my friends allegations have any legs.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Depends where you live. From Wikipedia:

 

Contrary to popular belief, since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, few states specifically prohibit minors' and young adults' consumption of alcohol in private settings. As of January 1, 2007, 14 states and the District of Columbia ban underage consumption outright, 19 states do not specifically ban underage consumption, and an additional 27 states have family member and/or location exceptions to their underage consumption laws. It is an argument in this country whether the age should be 18 or 21 since 18 is the age of majority in most states.

Federal law explicitly provides for religious, medical, employment and private club possession exceptions; as of 2005, 31 states have family member and/or location exceptions to their underage possession laws. [13]

[Dwight Drane]

There are a bunch of goofy laws mixed in. I don't know if it's still in the books, but in NY you could smoke pot in your own home as long as it was less than a quarter ounce, or something like that. Sure....you could go to jail if the saw you buy it or stopped you in your car with it, but once you got home it was green light.

 

Like Cincy said, the whole alcohol taboo thing is just a way to stuff the pockets of municipalities and lawyers. We live in a time where we are conditioned to accept guys smoking poles as normal and honorable, yet if I want to stick a 2 inch Marlboro in my mouth, I am a menace to society.

[KD in CA]

When I was growing up the drinking age here in NYS was 18. Buying beer at the age of 16 was very common. ID checks back then were rare. It was easy to use someone else's drivers license, or actually change the date of birth on your own. They didn't have photos on them.

 

You and society are a lot better off with a 21 minimum drinking age.

 

Agreed. Hell, we used to buy beer in some seedy deli when we were 16 and looked about 12.

[justnzane]

When I was growing up the drinking age here in NYS was 18. Buying beer at the age of 16 was very common. ID checks back then were rare. It was easy to use someone else's drivers license, or actually change the date of birth on your own. They didn't have photos on them.

 

You and society are a lot better off with a 21 minimum drinking age.

I am going to disagree, I feel that an earlier introduction to alcohol and the other potential evils of life tends to create more responsible drinking as one gets older. The fact that the drinking age is 21 has caused more alcohol related deaths and injuries in the high school colllege aged demographic.

 

Instead taking rights away from otherwise legal adults (18-21), we should be giving the message that we trust our young adults as opposed to restricting their rights. The raising of the drinking age has turned 90% of our college students into criminals.

[gmac17]

I am going to disagree, I feel that an earlier introduction to alcohol and the other potential evils of life tends to create more responsible drinking as one gets older. The fact that the drinking age is 21 has caused more alcohol related deaths and injuries in the high school colllege aged demographic.

 

I'm torn on this. I know that in college when we thought we might have trouble getting beer somewhere (freshman year) we'd do a bunch of shots in our room before we went out (which can be dangerous for 18 year olds)

 

On the flip side, the brits are much more lax about underage drinking and their drinking makes ours look like childs play....

[PearlHowardman]

I remember going to bars when I was in the 10th grade. I completely wasted my time in high school because I was drinking or stoned. Same thing for many of my friends, too.

 

I was six months out of high school when I had to quit smoking cigarettes because I was always sick and coughing my lungs out.

 

I don't have kids but I see my nieces and nephews living much healthier and productive teenage years than I did. They probably drink & indulge in drugs now and then but nothing like back in the 70s & early 80s. It's simply not available.

 

I'd much rather be a college freshman drinking shots in the dorm than a habitual cigarette smoking high school sophomore alcoholic & burnout.

[Alaska Darin]

I remember going to bars when I was in the 10th grade. I completely wasted my time in high school because I was drinking or stoned. Same thing for many of my friends, too.

 

I was six months out of high school when I had to quit smoking cigarettes because I was always sick and coughing my lungs out.

 

I don't have kids but I see my nieces and nephews living much healthier and productive teenage years than I did. They probably drink & indulge in drugs now and then but nothing like back in the 70s & early 80s. It's simply not available.

 

I'd much rather be a college freshman drinking shots in the dorm than a habitual cigarette smoking high school sophomore alcoholic & burnout.

Ah, the old "I was a douche bag so no one else should ever have the chance" debate. Pretty much the reason America was founded, right? Now use some catch phrase about "Freedom".

 

And drugs and alcohol are WAY more available now than they've ever been. You're deluded if you think otherwise.

[The Dean]

I had my first drink in a bar (not my first drink ever) when I was in 8th grade. There was a bar on the walk to the bus stop (from junior high). The very old woman who owned the place, and bartended couldn't see very well. 25 cent drafts and free popcorn.

 

By the time I was 16, I was regularly drinking in bars and buying beer and alcohol in stores. I think that it is much harder now, to go to a store and purchase beer or liquor, or drink in a bar, if you are 16, than it was then. But, that doesn't stop kids from getting their hands on booze. Drugs, of course, is a totally different story.

 

As for the original question, I was always under the impression that it was a state-by-state (and community-by-community) matter. As a bartender in NYS, I was always taught that underage customers couldn't drink no matter if they were with their parents, or not. I was also aware that it wasn't necessarily the case in some states, like Wisconsin, for example. I have been to some bars (in other states) where, according to the proprietor, it was against the law for an underage person to sit at the bar, or even be in the barroom. I could never confirm if that was really the law, in that locality, or if it was just BS.

[Steely Dan]

IIRC, I've heard of a few stories where parents were arrested for supplying alcohol for teenagers at a party.

 

ewwwwww

 

 

In Wisconsin you could be 16 and drink legally in a restaurant/bar if you are accompanied by an adult. DWI checkpoints are illegal in Wisconsin.

 

I read this in a NY Times article about a month ago.

 

When I was growing up the drinking age here in NYS was 18. Buying beer at the age of 16 was very common. ID checks back then were rare. It was easy to use someone else's drivers license, or actually change the date of birth on your own. They didn't have photos on them.

 

You and society are a lot better off with a 21 minimum drinking age.

 

I was lucky. When I was 18 the legal age was 18. When they changed it to 19 I was 19 and when they changed it to 21 I was 21.

[bills_fan]

I am going to disagree, I feel that an earlier introduction to alcohol and the other potential evils of life tends to create more responsible drinking as one gets older. The fact that the drinking age is 21 has caused more alcohol related deaths and injuries in the high school colllege aged demographic.

 

Instead taking rights away from otherwise legal adults (18-21), we should be giving the message that we trust our young adults as opposed to restricting their rights. The raising of the drinking age has turned 90% of our college students into criminals.

 

 

I completely agree here. For many reasons, but chiefly, if you can vote for leaders and die for your country, you should be able to walk into a bar and order a beer at 18. Also, many Euro countries have no drinking age and there is very little "forbidden fruit" aspect associated with alcohol. Even Canada, with its 19 year old drinking age, doesn't have (to my knowledge) the alcohol problems we have.

[Jim in Anchorage]

IIRC, I've heard of a few stories where parents were arrested for supplying alcohol for teenagers at a party.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was lucky. When I was 18 the legal age was 18. When they changed it to 19 I was 19 and when they changed it to 21 I was 21.

Born 1956 I bet. Lived tru the same sequence myself.

[Chump Change]

We trust our young men and women with lethal weapons and expect them to make life or death decisions in combat at ages as young as seventeen yet we refuse to allow them to consume alcohol until they're twnty-one. This is nothing more than nanny state politics at its worst.

 

For the record, I had no problem getting both alcohol and weed when I was twelve.

 

I think we sell our kids short today. Actually, I think they're better prepared at eighteen than I was at the same moment in time based upon the demands and speed of todays world.