Georgia's Paradoxical Drinking Laws: Parents don't have to support you, but still have say over whether you drink?

In Georgia, it is a crime for anyone under the age of 21 to consume alcohol. The only exceptions are:

1) When prescribed by a doctor.
2) As part of a religious ceremony.
3) Inside the home of a parent who is present and has provided the alcoholic beverage.

Does anyone else find this third rule really strange? So basically the only way that a 20 year old may consume a drink is if they are at home with their parents who so approve.

It is outrageous that a parent who no longer has any obligation to support or provide for you in any way still has authority over whether or not you may consume an alcoholic beverage.

This law means that an unemployed 20 year old still living with and supported by his parents may drink alcohol if they so approve, but a 20 year old who has moved out on his own, works a steady job, and pays his own taxes to the government may not drink. This law is absolutely ridiculous and completely absurd.

Drinking in Athens & Road Safety

Drunk driving is a huge problem in Athens, GA- particularly around the UGA campus and downtown. However, police largely focus on easy busts like when an RA or friend tattles on someone inside the dorms who has been drinking, or people they spot who have been drinking but made the choice to walk or take the bus home rather than drive. If more cops focused instead on catching drunk people on the roads safety could be increased.

Additionally, the cops practically never attempt to bust the bar owners or bouncers who knowingly let in and serve thousands of underage kids each night, accepting laughably obvious fake IDs. The downtown bar scene rakes in huge revenue and tax dollars for the city of Athens, so it is allowed to continue. If cops actually cared about safety they would pay more attention to the establishments serving the minors in the first place rather than picking up students who have consumed alcohol but are not doing anything dangerous or disruptive. 

Also, let's think about this: Who is more of a threat to public safety, a student who has had some alcohol and is now safely inside his dorm for the night OR a bar owner who is knowingly serving thousands of underage people inside his bar? 

Instead of running around arresting and dragging peaceful and non-disruptive students off to jail and then slapping them with permanent criminal records, the police in Athens, GA should shift their focus to being more proactive when it comes to road safety and drunk driving. This would be a much better use of resources.

DC and Maryland have Decriminalized Underage Drinking; Why Can't Athens Do the Same??

The District of Columbia has decriminalized underage drinking, making consumption of alcohol by those under age 21 a civil rather than criminal offense.

Punishment can includes community service or alcohol education classes, a fine of $300 and suspension of a driver’s license for 90 days. Offenders will no longer be arrested and carry a criminal record for the rest of their lives.

“There is no reason to criminalize --arrest -- a young adult holding a can of beer in his backyard,” said City Council member Paul Mendelson. “If he’s underage, he can be fined and lose his driver’s license. But don’t label it a criminal misdemeanor.” The Council agreed 11-1, with one Council member absent.

New legislation was passed because, although underage drinking had been decriminalized in 1997, police had continued to arrest young people for what was no longer a crime. A class action suit led to an injunction against additional illegal arrests.

Neighboring Maryland has also decriminalized possession and consumption of alcohol by those under the age of 21.

TIME FOR ATHENS, GA TO TAKE NOTICE OF THIS AND STOP HAULING OFF COLLEGE STUDENTS TO JAIL!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

How Much Freedom Will We Sacrifice for a Bit of Security??

Seriously how far will this go??

18 year old "adults" who can be sent to war, sent to prison, pay taxes, be legally kicked out of their parents houses, and sentenced to death can't drink alcohol because there is a correlation (which may or may not imply causation) showing that car crashes decreased when the drinking age was raised.

You know what else would lower the rate of car crashes? IF THE DRINKING WAS 60! OR BETTER YET, IF NO ONE AT ALL COULD DRINK.

Honestly, how far will the madness go? How much curtailing of our rights will we continue to put up with as citizens, for a little added safety.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "Those who will sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither." Truer words were never spoken.

Regardless of the effect on road safety, I do not think that 18, 19, and 20 year olds who drink in a responsible manner and then walk back home, harming no one, should be punished. DUI cases occur with drivers of all ages. Randomly discriminating against and denying freedom to a certain segment of the population is unjust and communistic.

UGA Students Made to Surrender at Jail after Hospital Trips

Occasionally a young, inexperienced freshman who doesn't know his or her limit will drink too much alcohol and get sick enough to require a visit to the hospital. These students have usually been found passed somewhere after having vomited. I'm sure they feel horrible after such a rough night.

When students are so extremely intoxicated as to require medical treatment, I'm sure they have learned their lessons and been through enough strife. However, for kids at UGA, the ordeal doesn't end after being released from the hospital and charged with underage drinking. No, the poor kid is usually transported to jail right after being released from the hospital. Otherwise, a warrant is issued and the student must turn himself in and be booked into jail.

This is a horrible policy for several reasons, but most importantly because it discourages kids who find themselves in a dangerous situation to seek help. When kids know that seeking help when they find themselves in an emergency will earn them a trip to jail, they are unlikely to seek that help.

Take the example of Lewis Fish, a UGA student who died in his dorm room shortly after UGA implemented the notorious "go straight to jail" policy. Perhaps if the penalties weren't so unusually harsh, he could have been saved. UGA is currently the only college I am aware of where an MIP with no other complicating factors or additional crimes can earn a kid a trip to jail. The vast majority of other counties simply issue citations and let the kids walk away. The way Athens handles it is absolutely ridiculous and they should really rethink this policy before it causes more kids to die.

Instead of severely punishing drinkers who ARE NOT EVEN DRIVING OR ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE, HOW ABOUT ENACTING HARSHER PENALTIES FOR DUI??????

An 18 year old adult has the following abilities/rights/responsibilities...

• to vote;
• to make a will and power of attorney;
• to make your own end-of-life decisions;
• to be an organ donor;
• to sign a contract (rent an apartment, buy a car, take out a loan) in your own name;
• to obtain medical treatment without parental consent;
• to enlist in the armed forces without parental consent;
• to be completely independent from parental control;
• to apply for credit in your own name.
• You will be tried in adult criminal court rather than juvenile court.
• Your parents are no longer required to support you.
• You may be sued by others on contracts you signed.
• You are eligible for jury duty.
• All males must register with Selective Service.

BUT YOU CAN'T DRINK ALCOHOL. THIS IS ABSURD, RIDICULOUS, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

Drinking Age: Some Food for Thought

At the University of Georgia, kids caught drinking are handcuffed, fingerprinted, photographed, and booked into the Athens-Clark County jail. This happens to anyone approached by police and discovered to have consumed alcohol, even kids who are not being disruptive or engaging in other crimes. 

With this in mind, please ponder over these questions:

1. What is more dangerous: driving your vehicle too fast, or being tipsy inside your own dorm room after having had a few drinks hours previously? 

2. Are there 18 year olds who drink but never drive drunk? Are there plenty of people 21 or older who choose to drive drunk and are often the cause of fatal accidents when doing so?

3. Should people who are considered by the law "too young" to drink alcohol be considered old enough to deal with the implications of going to jail and then having a permanent criminal record??

4. Do people deserve to be physically restrained and locked in jail who are doing nothing to threaten public safety or harming anyone else? 

5. Is it fair that adults (bar owners) knowingly sell alcohol to underage kids, and then other adults arrest and take them to jail for it?? What kind of message does this send to our youth?

Just some things to think about.