Mich. Official Fears Underage Drinking May Rise After SCOTUS Ruling
by Mary Rettig
May 18, 2005
(AgapePress) - The chairperson of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission says a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision creates a dangerous situation for young people all over America. The high court struck down laws in the Wolverine State as well as in New York that ban out-of-state wine shipments -- a decision that affects 24 states in all that have similar legislation.The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a number of small wineries in those states, which had filed suit contending that they could not be competitive unless they were allowed to sell to customers directly, via the telephone and the Internet. State solicitors general for New York and Michigan had argued that states would be less able to prevent underage drinking, less likely to track alcohol sales, less likely to collect taxes, and less likely to ensure product purity if the wineries were allowed to bypass the states' regulatory systems.
Nida Samona of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission is concerned about the implications of lifting the ban, particularly those that relate to the health and safety of minors. She says it is difficult to control out-of-state alcohol sales, and for young people's sake especially, the laws concerning the purchase of alcohol "need to be more strict. We need to tighten control over this."
Samona says the primary reason for the Michigan legislation restricting liquor purchases that are not done face-to-face is to keep underage individuals from easily obtaining alcohol. "Our whole reason in fighting this case," she says, "was that we wanted to make sure minors do not have easy accessibility to purchase alcohol through the Internet, through the mail system, and through the phone system."
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the protective laws in Michigan and New York, the Liquor Control Commission official says it will be easier to circumvent laws prohibiting underage drinking. "If I want to buy wine from a winery that I visited a month ago out of state," she points out, "I could easily have purchased it through the Internet, or called them and said, 'Ship me a box of that wine.' And that is a concern. How do they know who I am, and if I'm of age to do it?"
In light of the high court ruling, Samona says she will now recommend that Michigan legislators act to ban all alcohol sales that cannot be made face-to-face.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
