Here is an op-ed from today's Washington Post that calls into questions the stupidity of punishing parents for being responsible. While I attended a couple of parties in high school where alcohol was served, we tended to be responsible and sleep over at the house (which raised lots of sex issues, but that is a story for another time). Of course, one cannot always count on the "responsible nature" of teenagers.
So what is a parent to do to prevent kids from driving around drunk? Host the part themselves and collect car keys from kids coming to the party? Sounds sensible right? Not so fast. Some states are fining and jailing parents for caring about kids and preventing drunk teenagers from driving.
Finally, the story notes a real legal problem, that of no warrant searches of a private home on the mere suspicion of underage drinking. Last time I checked the 4th Amendment still applied in this country. You want to search my house, you better have a warrant and/or justifiable probable cause.
Zero Tolerance Makes Zero Sense
Jammed Outside the Beltway
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