Whenever we go to Midtown we have to wade through a seemingly endless amount of 18- to 20-year-olds. They edge in front of us at the bar only to stare blankly at the bartender before ordering a “roman coke” or whatever it is that grown-ups drink. They look so innocent trying to tape together a discarded wristband they found behind a Dumpster, and it’s hilarious every time we see a 19-year-old girl drunkenly crying behind Balls.
But seriously, when are they going to stop ruining the fun for the rest of us? The Swamp, 101 Cantina and Rum Runners are all facing some serious legal trouble because of underage antics. It’s not even really their fault. The police said most of the infractions come from people using their friends’ IDs or having someone else get them drinks once inside. How can the city honestly expect bars to know every time they are being lied to by an underage patron?
We have a new solution. Instead of punishing the bars for being duped, why not punish the kids? Yeah, they already get in a little bit of trouble for drinking underage, but obviously it is not enough. If someone gets caught drinking underage, he or she should be slammed with a huge fine and banned from entering another bar until he or she is 21. Then the cops can hit repeat offenders with a trespassing charge.
It’s hard enough to do business in this economy, and this ordinance is only making it harder for bars to operate in the black, so if the city really wants to crack down on underage drinking it should think about implementing a one-strike policy on underage drinkers instead of hurting local business.
