The Arkansas House of Representatives just passed An Act to Provide Criminal Liability for a Social Host Who Knowingly Serves Alcohol to Persons Under the Age of 21 …:
3-3-219(a)(1) A person who exercises control over private property shall not knowingly allow a person under twenty-one (21) years of age who is not a child or ward of the person to:
(A) Consume alcohol on the private property; or
(B) Remain on the private property if the person under twenty-one (21) years of age consumes an alcoholic beverage on the property.
(2) This subsection applies only to a person who is present and in control of the private property at the time the consumption occurs.(b)(1) A first violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(2) A second violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(3) A third or subsequent violation of this section is a Class D felony.
But as my friend Dan Greenberg, an Arkansas state legislator, points out:
Does this bill give an incentive for unmonitored underage drinking to occur? I think so, and I also think that the law would be better if it went the other way — that is, to give an incentive for an adult to stick around and keep an eye on the problem, rather than leave. I understand that a couple of teenagers sitting around drinking beer is hardly an ideal situation, but this new bill makes the problem much worse by discouraging adult monitoring of any kind….
[Also,] I tend to think that a legal requirement to order a child off your property [see (a)(1)(B)] has its own set of problems. Maybe [the child] has a cell phone and can call for a ride, or maybe she can walk home. I hope so, and I hope she hasn