Raise your hand if you ever drank alcohol before your 21st birthday. Okay, leave it up if your mom or dad ever gave you a beer or a glass of wine before your 21st birthday. Right, most of us are not such pollyannas that we actually waited until that magical age.
Is dad a reckless monster for giving you that glass of Merlot with dinner when you were 16? Of course not, but the law has to draw a line somewhere and technically that is illegal. It falls under the broader offense of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor.
Just don't let the cops see you do it.
But under no circumstances should you do what Far South Side resident Ameenah Williams allegedly did (Fox Chicago) when she was approached by the police, who saw two 14-year-old boys walking on the sidewalk with cans of beer.
Police say she yelled the following words:
"I gave him the god ---- beer and it's none of your business. He is my son and he's a good kid."
Actually, these are cops and enforcing the law is indeed their business. But she didn't stop there. Williams reportedly stood in the middle of the street "obstructing traffic and alarming citizens on the block."
Predictably, the boys refused to talk further with police and ran away, while Williams was arrested and taken into custody.
Now, if the police had barged into her home to hassle her about giving her son a beer, that would have been inappropriate (not to mention a violation of Ms. Williams' 4th Amemdment rights). Why didn't she advise her son to drink the beer indoors or at least conceal it with a brown paper bag?
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Parental Laws Misguided And Simplistic, Legal Scholar Says (University of Illinois, News Bureau)
- Parents: Underage Drinking is Illegal, Even Under Your Roof (Fox News)
