ID for buying Booze

[FCD]

I always think it's funny how in the USA they ask you for your id anywhere when buying alcohol even if you are obviously +21.

Here in Spain you can even buy alcohol in the self check out area of supermarkets and nobody asks for Id's , the attendant at the self check out just looks at you and decides, people usually don't ask for id unless you really look like you might not be 18.

I could see maybe it makes sense if the person is young but being asked to show id when you already have gray hair seems silly.
Hope i don't make anyone angry.

 

[GMBoy]

I always think it's funny how in the USA they ask you for your id anywhere when buying alcohol even if you are obviously +21.

Here in Spain you can even buy alcohol in the self check out area of supermarkets and nobody asks for Id's , people usually don't ask for id unless you really look like you might not be 18.

I could see maybe it makes sense if the person is young but being asked to show id when you already have gray hair seems silly.

It is because the laws and penalties in the USA are very harsh if you serve an underage person. For this reason most servers ask for ID for everyone to be safe....you know we got 14yr olds that look 21+ and if you serve that minor you are in a world of trouble in the USA. Hope that answers your question lol

 

[FCD]

It is because the laws and penalties in the USA are very harsh if you serve an underage person. For this reason most servers ask for ID for everyone to be safe....you know we got 14yr olds that look 21+ and if you serve that minor you are in a world of trouble in the USA. Hope that answers your question lol

Right, makes sense.

 

[Pew]

Wait until you learn that you can die for this country before you can even smoke or drink.

 

[Trav]

What is really funny is you don't need an ID to vote.

 

[GMBoy]

Wait until you learn that you can die for this country before you can even smoke or drink.

Yeah I was gonna say that as well in my reply - that never makes sense!

 

[FCD]

What is really funny is you don't need an ID to vote.

Oh yes, great idea.
Here it's Id and paper ballots.

 

[Hall]

As mentioned, the penalties for selling to underage people are very severe. Easy solution: Ask everyone for ID. Do NOT leave it up to anyone to decide "oh, they're old enough". It will still happen but some workers feel safer just sticking to company policy and asking everyone, no matter their age or appearance.

 

[slo town]

I’m 71 and have to give my drivers license to the Bev Mo clerk so she can scan it to complete my purchase.

In America a business or person can be sued for just about anything. Suppose a teen that looks 30 (and some do) buys booze and the clerk doesn’t verify age. Teen goes out and gets wasted, running over some little kid riding their bike. The store would get sued by the parents of the little kid - and the parents of the booze buying teen would sue the store too - because it wasn’t THEIR fault their kid was driving drunk.

Scott

 

[AutoMechanic]

I have only been asked for ID one time for alcohol. But also everyone tells me I’m 35 lol but I am 22 actually.

 

[PWMDMD]

It is because the laws and penalties in the USA are very harsh if you serve an underage person. For this reason most servers ask for ID for everyone to be safe....you know we got 14yr olds that look 21+ and if you serve that minor you are in a world of trouble in the USA. Hope that answers your question lol

There was a patient last week who normally sees my partner who was a little behind so I went in to do a quick exam. I had forgotten to look at her age before going in but she looked like she was at least a late teen. I sat down, said hi, had a 2 mins conversation with her and asked how life was going and she said she just graduated. I asked what's the plan now and she said school and so I asked where she's going to college and she said she's going to high school.

By her physical appearance and by how confidently she conversed with me if I saw her in a bar wouldn't have thought anything of it. She had just turned 14.

 

[Pew]

Here's the law in Illinois regarding underage alcohol sale to minors. It will vary state by state but just so you can see the legal ramifications of this:

• If you are 21 years or older and knowingly give alcohol to a minor at a private residence, you can be charged with this offense as a Class A misdemeanor, which could result in up to one year in jail and up t $2,500 in fines.
• If you are 21 years or older and knowingly give alcohol to a minor at a private residence, you can be charged with this offense as a Class 4 felony if great bodily injury or death occurred. A Class 4 felony carries between one and three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.
• If you serve/sell a minor alcohol, it is a Class A misdemeanor and can include up to one year in jail and a fine not less than $500. A second offense would involve a fine not less than $2,000.
• If you serve/sell a minor alcohol and great bodily injury or death occurs because of it, it is a Class 4 felony. Again, a Class 4 felony carries between one and three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.

 

[FCD]

And for example i am from Finland, there until recently you could not even buy beer in supermarkets, now you can but only beer.

All other types of alcohol are sold through Alko which is a state run company and everything is heavily taxed to deter people from drinking as in the past there was a lot of alcoholism in Finland, and to be honest it has worked and alcoholism rates have dropped quite a bit.

Yet they usually do not ask for id.

 

[Pew]

Yeah I was gonna say that as well in my reply - that never makes sense!

Yep! Give us access and ability to use all sorts of things that go boom but tobacco and alcohol is too much for them!

 

[kschachn]

Here in Wisconsin it seems to depend on the venue. Lately I haven't come across anyone that cards everyone, only those that they choose to do so.

As an aside it's legal here for someone of any age to buy and consume alcohol at any location (bar, restaurant, liquor store, home) if they are with their parents. The establishment has the last say however and can deny anyone they wish.

 

[The_Eric]

Wait until you learn that you can die for this country before you can even smoke or drink.

Correction:


Wait until you learn that you can be forced to die for this country before you can even smoke or drink.

 

[DriveHard]

Shortly after my divorce from my first wife, I worked as a bouncer. I carded EVERYONE coming in the door...no way was I going to pay the price for someone under age getting in. Well, I carded a middle aged gentlemen and his arm candy...ended up getting a gun pulled on me. He was let in, sat in a booth, and waited until the cops got there...his night went from bad to worse.

 

[jhellwig]

Wait until you learn that you can die for this country before you can even smoke or drink.

But you can’t rent a car or get a hotel room even if you can legally smoke, drink, buy firearms, vote, join the military or go work an abysmal dead end job that slowly kills you.

 

[gfh77665]

What is really funny is you don't need an ID to vote.

Or enter the country. By the 10's of millions.

 

[72C10]

We're trending towards moving adulthood to 21 in almost everything. Some things are just lagging behind.

My theory is that the children of lawmakers are not working jobs and taking on adult responsibilities before 21, so that's why we are getting these laws.

I can't relate since I worked summer jobs throughout high school and worked while I was going to technical college to pay for it.