Bars fighting back against under age liars.

[Mr.Vicchio]

SAN FRANCISCO — Bar and liquor store owners are fighting back against underage drinkers that cost them thousands of dollars in profit when they are caught.



San Francisco has no shortage of bars or underage drinkers (search) who try to sneak into them, usually with the help of a fake ID or a valid drivers license they got from a friend. The problem is that if they get caught, they don’t get into much legal trouble.

In California, an underage drinker faces a $250 fine. The bar, on the other hand, stands to lose thousands of dollars and even its liquor license if more than one underage drinker is caught there.

A group of San Francisco bar owners is fighting back by taking underage drinkers to court and making them pay for lost wages and profits. The owner of one bar, Amante's, took a 20-year-old woman to small claims court and won a $5,000 judgment after she used a friend's ID to get in, resulting in a $3,000 fine for the bar.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120594,00.html

Finally, the bars are fighting back! As a former bar tendered and waiter, I can tell you its a royal pain trying to keep up with this crap. These selfish kids think its cool to try and beat the system, with nary a care for what can happen to those they dupe.

I say right on.

[dotcoma]

Lowering the drinking age coupled with actions like this might be the answer to underage drinking.

[Mr.Vicchio]

Lowering the drinking age?? Sorry I think it should stay were is, or raised. I have seen what happens when you let 18 year olds drink legally.. bad joo-joo.

[dotcoma]

They drink that way because it's illegal. So, that's freedom, huh? Old enough to vote, fight a war and be "an adult" but not drink a beer. Interesting.

[Mr.Vicchio]

Isn't that a chant from the 60's?

Give it up, 18 year olds don't need to drink. Why should they?

[dotcoma]

I don't know if it's a chant from the 60s. Don't think it matters. 18 year olds are adults. Adults have a right to make decisions for themselves. It's this little thing called freedom of personal choice. It's not a question of "why should they?" It's a question of "what gives govt the right?"

[Mr.Vicchio]

Roxdog, seriously, 18 years olds, aren't mature enough to drink. Three years of waiting isn't going to kill them. But letting an 18 year old, two years or less removed from getting his/her DL is just ASKING for toruble.

[dotcoma]

They drink anyway. If we didn't raise our kids to be such pussies, we wouldn't have all these "problems". I lived in Europe for a spell. It's ridiculous to treat substance abuse as a crime until it endangers human life. If we aren't going to consider 18 year olds legal adults, than they shouldn't be able to vote or fight in Bush's wars.

[Paavo]

There's nothing as annoying as 20+ year olds acting like teens while drunk. In Finland, people tend to start drinking at 15 years or so... they act like idiots, get it out of their system until they're 18 (legal drinking age), and start drinking more responsibly and in a mature manner (not everyone, oh god no...lots of idiots!).

Roxdog, seriously, 18 years olds, aren't mature enough to drink.

That's your opinion, not everyone's. And I really can't see the logic;
You can vote, drive and join the military...but not drink alcohol?! To quote you: Seriously...

[Mr.Vicchio]

Different Culture. Do you think Europeans should or could handle say, Conceled hand gun laws liek America?

[dotcoma]

Yes. I think that's every person's right regardless of culture and it's a tad ethnocentic to suggest otherwise.

[Mr.Vicchio]

TYhat fine roxdog but damn it you derailed my thread.


This about bars taking underage liars to court not the age limit... arghh start your own thread on that...

[samsara15]

I think we should do away with all laws against drugs. However, any harm done to anyone else while under the influence should carry severe penalties.

[Aequo]

If 18 year olds want to drink, they should excercise their newfound voting rights.

[Mia]

I'm going to have to agree that if you're an adult, you're an adult.

[Mia]

Originally posted by Mr.Vicchio, Different Culture. Do you think Europeans should or could handle say, Conceled hand gun laws liek America?

Nice twist tactic (not really). On the culture part, I believe that was his point. Our culture doesn't teach to handle alcohol as well. Laws don't help with this.

On your original topic, I agree with you. I managed a bar in college and those punks pissed me off. I explained as nicely as I could that I'd love to let them drink but I could go to jail and be fined quite a bit of money if they did and were caught. As soon as my back was turned they were drinking from their friend's drink.

But my life would have been still easier had the age limit been 18.

[GreatWyrm of Babylon]

The drinking/driving laws have been a source of constant amusement to me. When I was a teen the drinking age was 18 and the driving age was 16. So they raise the driving age to 18. Then they complain that 18 year old drivers are drinking in the car, so they raise the drinking age to 21. Then I hear talk about raising the driving age to 21?

Do they not realize that it is the fact that they are learning to drive and learning to drink responsibly at the same time is the problem? What kind of IQ does that require?

[Mr.Vicchio]

I am just curious why 3 years between 18 and 21 is going to so deny these kids rights or something. Its three years of one less thing to worry about.

[Mia]

Because at 18 you're an adult. It is valid to say it's wrong that you're old enough to kill and die in a war but not be allowed to drink. If they can't drink responsibly, you think they should be in charge of a gun and other people?

Regardless of what the legal age is, the drinking starts when it starts, as it is pathetically easy to drink all you want underage.

Reagardless of when it starts, it takes a few years to "get your legs". So it can go up and up and never remove the problem.

Tell me, do you have any stats that raising the age to 21 was productive in any way?

I drank all I wanted to between 18-21. I would wager I was more irresponsible from having to hide it.

One reason kids drive around and drink is because they can't be caught anywhere with it!

In college, there was a little stip with our most popular bars and clubs. Cops lined up all around near closing time and stood outside looking for those who were drunk before they got into cars and were at the ready to pull over anyone who did.

But no one was watching the 18 year old's because they didn't know where they were.

[Pooeypants]

We got loads kids over in UK buying and drinking Alcohol at about 14 years old, bunch of hoodlums.