Allow teens access to booze at home? You’ll face jail time
New county ordinance cracks down on ‘social hosts’ who permit underage drinking
A few years of planning and research by several local stakeholders has resulted in an updated ordinance targeting underage drinking in the unincorporated areas of Fayette County.
The key term here is “social hosts,” the subject of an entire code section that was amended in its entirety and approved by the Fayette County Board of Commissioners at its Sept. 10 regular meeting. The problem, as defined by those concerned with this issue, is the availability of alcoholic beverages for underage drinkers in their own homes and those of their friends.
According to a county staff report, the original ordinance passed in early 2014 “made it unlawful for any person who is in legal and actual control of any location where a gathering takes place to allow such a gathering where one or more person attending the gathering is charged with a violation of any of the provisions of OCGA Section 3-3-23.”
That code section includes “furnishing to, purchasing of, or possession by persons under 21 years of age of alcoholic beverages; use of false identification; dispensing, serving, selling, or handling by persons under 21 years of age in the course of employment; seller’s actions upon receiving false identification.”
The new ordinance had the support of both the solicitor and the sheriff, according to county officials, although the solicitor “expressed some concern that the mandated sentences/fines could restrict the judge’s decision.”
Violators of the ordinance could face up to six months imprisonment and a fine of up to $500 for a first offense.
Dawn Oparah, co-founder of AVPRIDE and a participant in the ordinance revision process, called the passage of the new ordinance “exciting” and a long time coming.
“We’ve known for a long time that there was an issue in this community with underage drinking,” she said. “The problem was that we didn’t have any money to fund [measures to stop it].”
In 2011 through a competitive bid process, AVPRIDE was given state funding over a five-year period to address the problem. The organization brought in partners including Fayette FACTOR to help.
“One of the things that contributes to underage drinking is social norms, and that includes parties for underage young people,” said Oparah.
Michael Mumper, another AVPRIDE representative, told the commissioners that over the past four years the issue has been addressed “on a number of different fronts.” One initiative has resulted in an alcohol education curriculum being implemented in all five of the county’s public middle schools starting this year, he said.
“We have found that our youth do not typically get alcohol in retail establishments, but in their own homes and their friends’ homes,” said Mumper. “Parents often know about this as well.”
The new ordinance is aimed specifically at parents who are knowingly allowing this behavior to take place.
“It is also aimed at parents who are thinking about letting this happen or are put under pressure by their kids to allow this to happen,” said Mumper. “It is a strong reason to say, ‘No. We will not host this party. We do not want to pay this fine, do the community service, attend this class, or spend time in jail.’”
Commissioner David Barlow asked Mumper about a particular point that was raised during the survey process, saying that the data revealed only 30 percent of parents believed there was a problem with underage drinking in the community, while 65 percent of teens said there is a teen drinking problem.
Mumper said they drew from a statewide survey and also did their own survey last year which produced numbers like that.
“The perception was that there is not a problem in Fayette County but the statistics showed the opposite,” said Barlow, who added that he spent a day in Juvenile Court and called that experience “a real eye-opener. It was mind-boggling to me to see these precious children who have gone astray.”
Just before the board voted 4-0 to approve the new ordinance, Oparah thanked the commissioners for their support. “It helps protect our young people, and for us that is the bottom line.”
