Posted at: 02/02/2012 11:27 PM
By: Ellery McCardle
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Email to a FriendLawmaker Proposes New MN Drinking Law, 16-year-olds Allowed
(ABC 6 NEWS) -- How old should someone be before being allowed to drink alcohol?
Right now the law is 21, but one lawmaker says those as young as 16 should be allowed. The representative behind the bill is democrat Phyllis Kahn of Minneapolis.
Kahn wants to fix the binge drinking problem in the state, to do so she thinks bars and restaurants are the answer.
Should teenagers be able to drink? It's a question asked of lawmakers and it's getting people to talk.
"I think it would be a good idea because people wouldn't feel the need to sneak around and do it" said Eunice Akintade, a student at the University of Minnesota-Rochester.
"The common argument is we can go to war so we should be able to drink," said Evan Nicolai, also a student at UMR.
If passed, the bill would allow 18 year-olds to drink freely at bars and restaurants. However, it would not allow them to buy alcohol at a liquor store. Also proposed is to allow parents to come into a bar and buy their kid as young as 16 a beer.
"Being able to drink when you're at an event with your parents I think is a very good way to understand how to do responsible drinking," said Rep. Kahn.
For Mike Kothenbeutel, owner of Beetle's Bar and Grill in Rochester, that argument doesn't sit well with him.
"If you really want your 16 year-old to drink that bad, drink at home and deal with that. I don't want to have that on my conscious," he said.
Another concern is drunk driving. Alcohol is a major contributor to traffic deaths in the state, raising red flags for Kristine Hernandez, the area's Toward Zero Death coordinator.
"Teens are already over-represented in the number of traffic fatalities and I think this bill would increase that number," she said.
Kahn says this bill is key to lowering the amount of binge drinkers, especially on college campuses.
"...to get people used to drinking and get them under a controlled circumstance," said Rep. Kahn.
Part of the idea for the bill comes from Wisconsin, where minors are allowed to drink in bars with their parents.
