this is some bullshit the police is gettin outta control all they do is go after teenagers its bullshit these laws are horse shit.
http://www1.arguscourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061122/NEWS01/61121018
City going after parents who let teens drink
New law targets ‘house parties’ where alcohol is provided by adults
Published: Wednesday, Nov 22, 2006
By COREY YOUNG
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF
SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE
• Establishes fines up to $1,000, and possible jail time, for adults who allow teens to drink alcohol at house parties.
• Adults who allow such gatherings, or the parents of teens who do so, could be liable for the cost of police response to unruly parties.
• Will go into effect in January and replaces a less-stringent “teen party” law enacted in 1995.
Red plastic cups in hand, teenagers gathered in a garage look on as a girl is hoisted upside-down over a keg of beer, positioned to drink directly from the tap.
“Let’s go!” one boy shouts as the girl smiles at the video camera and says, “This is No. 4.”
So begins the “keg stand,” a party ritual to see who can last the longest while being held upside-down and sucking down beer as onlookers count away the seconds.
In this case, the teenage girl’s fourth keg stand of the night lasted seven seconds. She’s lowered down, wipes her mouth with her oversized sweater’s sleeve, and the video ends.
It sounds like the makings of a public service announcement about the dangers of underage drinking.
But it’s not. It’s footage of teenagers at a real Petaluma party, titled “Caitlynne doing her fourth keg stand of the night” and posted on the video-sharing Web site “YouTube.”
To help combat what health advocates say is an unusually high rate of underage drinking in Petaluma, the city is proposing tougher penalties for adults who allow such parties — or whose children are discovered hosting such gatherings without adults’ knowledge.
The “social host” ordinance makes adults accountable for underage drinking in their homes, and requires them to pay fines or face possible jail time if they knowingly allow such parties.
In addition, if a teenager is hosting the party without an adult’s knowledge, the teen’s parents could face penalties and be required to reimburse the city for what it costs the police department to shut down the party.
The ordinance, unveiled at Monday’s City Council meeting, says that if an adult responsible for a residence is at home while teens are drinking, that person should know underage drinking is happening there and could be liable for allowing the gathering.
A group of citizens and organizations known as the Coalition to Prevent Underage and High-Risk Drinking worked with the police department to bring the ordinance to the council.
Pat Landrum of the Healthy Community Consortium said the law would “bring more teeth” to community efforts to curb teen drinking.
A 2005 study of Petaluma teens’ drinking habits revealed that 48 percent of high school juniors and 25 percent of freshmen who drink said they get alcohol from adults who buy it for them. More than one-third of juniors and 20 percent of freshmen got alcohol from adults at friends’ homes, the survey showed.
“After hearing about this, people ask me, ‘Do people really do this?’” Police Capt. Dave Sears told the council. “And I have to say, ‘Unfortunately, yes, they do.’”
Sears said as recently as Friday, Nov. 17, officers broke up a party on Paula Lane at Magnolia Avenue where as many as 50 teens had access to alcohol.
“We had a parent who was there who thought it was OK and appropriate to host a party with alcohol being served to underage kids,” Sears said.
Under existing law, that parent, Sibyl Day, 56, will be charged with contributing to the deliquency of a minor, and could face up to a $150 fine or the possibility of probation, he said.
The new ordinance, which was enthusiastically endorsed by the council, will become law in the new year.
“This is another tool that our police department has to help solve some of these problems,” Councilmember Pamela Torliatt said.
“The statistics on this are alarming,” Mayor David Glass said. The ordinance “sends out a message to the community that when you have children in your house, you’re responsible for those children.”
http://www1.arguscourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061122/NEWS01/61121018
City going after parents who let teens drink
New law targets ‘house parties’ where alcohol is provided by adults
Published: Wednesday, Nov 22, 2006
By COREY YOUNG
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF
SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE
• Establishes fines up to $1,000, and possible jail time, for adults who allow teens to drink alcohol at house parties.
• Adults who allow such gatherings, or the parents of teens who do so, could be liable for the cost of police response to unruly parties.
• Will go into effect in January and replaces a less-stringent “teen party” law enacted in 1995.
Red plastic cups in hand, teenagers gathered in a garage look on as a girl is hoisted upside-down over a keg of beer, positioned to drink directly from the tap.
“Let’s go!” one boy shouts as the girl smiles at the video camera and says, “This is No. 4.”
So begins the “keg stand,” a party ritual to see who can last the longest while being held upside-down and sucking down beer as onlookers count away the seconds.
In this case, the teenage girl’s fourth keg stand of the night lasted seven seconds. She’s lowered down, wipes her mouth with her oversized sweater’s sleeve, and the video ends.
It sounds like the makings of a public service announcement about the dangers of underage drinking.
But it’s not. It’s footage of teenagers at a real Petaluma party, titled “Caitlynne doing her fourth keg stand of the night” and posted on the video-sharing Web site “YouTube.”
To help combat what health advocates say is an unusually high rate of underage drinking in Petaluma, the city is proposing tougher penalties for adults who allow such parties — or whose children are discovered hosting such gatherings without adults’ knowledge.
The “social host” ordinance makes adults accountable for underage drinking in their homes, and requires them to pay fines or face possible jail time if they knowingly allow such parties.
In addition, if a teenager is hosting the party without an adult’s knowledge, the teen’s parents could face penalties and be required to reimburse the city for what it costs the police department to shut down the party.
The ordinance, unveiled at Monday’s City Council meeting, says that if an adult responsible for a residence is at home while teens are drinking, that person should know underage drinking is happening there and could be liable for allowing the gathering.
A group of citizens and organizations known as the Coalition to Prevent Underage and High-Risk Drinking worked with the police department to bring the ordinance to the council.
Pat Landrum of the Healthy Community Consortium said the law would “bring more teeth” to community efforts to curb teen drinking.
A 2005 study of Petaluma teens’ drinking habits revealed that 48 percent of high school juniors and 25 percent of freshmen who drink said they get alcohol from adults who buy it for them. More than one-third of juniors and 20 percent of freshmen got alcohol from adults at friends’ homes, the survey showed.
“After hearing about this, people ask me, ‘Do people really do this?’” Police Capt. Dave Sears told the council. “And I have to say, ‘Unfortunately, yes, they do.’”
Sears said as recently as Friday, Nov. 17, officers broke up a party on Paula Lane at Magnolia Avenue where as many as 50 teens had access to alcohol.
“We had a parent who was there who thought it was OK and appropriate to host a party with alcohol being served to underage kids,” Sears said.
Under existing law, that parent, Sibyl Day, 56, will be charged with contributing to the deliquency of a minor, and could face up to a $150 fine or the possibility of probation, he said.
The new ordinance, which was enthusiastically endorsed by the council, will become law in the new year.
“This is another tool that our police department has to help solve some of these problems,” Councilmember Pamela Torliatt said.
“The statistics on this are alarming,” Mayor David Glass said. The ordinance “sends out a message to the community that when you have children in your house, you’re responsible for those children.”
