County supes are to be commended for passage of law
Kudos to Santa Clara County supervisors for cracking down on underage drinking parties in unincorporated parts of the county.
On Sept. 23, supervisors adopted an ordinance that imposes stiff penalties for violations and makes parents and adult hosts of such gatherings responsible for payment of police, fire and other emergency response time.
The new law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will penalize violators with fines starting at $350 for a first citation, then increasing to $700 for a second citation and $1,000 for a third citation. It also gives violators a break on the first offense when they'll simply receive a warning, but then would be responsible for payment for response costs the second time such personnel are called to a property where the illegal partying is happening.
Another tool for law enforcement
The new law is yet another tool that law enforcement can use to combat the growing problem of underage drinking
But we mustn't kid ourselves. The law, as rightly pointed out by Supervisor Liz Kniss, who voted against its passage, won't change irresponsible behavior from those under 21 and the adults who supply alcohol to them. It's going to require a concerted effort on the part of parents, teachers and society in general to better educate our youth at a young age about the dangers of drinking prematurely.
Nice job Supervisor Don Gage
Supervisor Don Gage is to be commended for lobbying in favor of the law after realizing that similar municipal laws in Gilroy and Morgan Hill have driven the drinking parties to unincorporated county areas. Gage did this by temporarily excluding landlords and Stanford University from the penalties for one year. Under the original draft of the ordinance, they would have been responsible and that's simply not fair. Why would we hold responsible innocent landlords who sometimes can't control the rowdiness or who aren't even aware that it's going on? We shouldn't trade away our property rights to control the problem. Holding them responsible would have been an unfair burden.
Also, excluding landlords from the fines makes sense as in most rental agreements, illegal activities such as underage drinking are grounds for eviction. When violations occur it would be prudent to inform homeowners and landlords in a timely manner as well as insurance companies.
And in one year's time, supervisors should seriously consider whether it's wise to allow Stanford to have its own set of rules to govern such illegal activities. Stanford is not above the law, after all. And let's remember that state law already prohibits contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and giving them alcohol when they're under 21 is plain wrong. We must educate our children and our youth to help them understand the dangers of alcohol consumption at such young ages. We must do more to drive home the message that drinking and driving is a deadly combination with tragedy and suffering in the end. We must also speak about the addictive nature of alcohol and society's lax attitude toward what's commonly thought of as a drug consumed for social purposes, when its effects are just as threatening as those of other illegal drugs.
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