As a younger teenager, one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving was a glass of wine. There was simply nothing better than being able to share a toast with family and friends and enjoy one another’s presence. If one Ohio senator gets their way, however, parents like mine could face legal repercussions.
Last week, the Ohio State Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee read Senate Bill 115 for the first time. The legislation, which was proposed by Sen. Tina Maharath, D-Columbus, would prohibit individuals under the age of 21 from entering a bar.
The bill would have far-reaching adverse effects for small businesses across Ohio, where nearly four hundred small breweries operate. Many of those breweries, such as the 50 West Brewing Company, rely heavily on families for business. In fact, 50 West even recently announced an expansion created precisely for kid’s entertainment.
“A brewery is not necessarily ‘people are out until 2 a.m. on a Saturday’ type of environment,” said Bobby Slattery, owner of 50 West in an interview with CBS. “It’s more of the afternoon on a Saturday or happy hour and they like to have the kids around.”
Seeing as public backlash was mounting, Sen. Maharath initiated damage control. “I just want to clear the air that the intention is not to prevent the underage from coming into their facilities; it’s just to ensure that the underage are not drinking under the supervision of a parent or spouse,” said Sen. Maharath in that same CBS segment.
No amendments to the bill, at least none that are visible on the internet, have been submitted. Regardless, Sen. Maharath’s statements leave her in an awkward and narrow position. If the senator doesn’t want to prohibit minors from entering a bar and just wants to stop them from being able to consume alcohol under parental supervision, why not just write that into the bill in the first place?
Furthermore, Ohio already has legislation in place for “Social Host Liability.” Essentially, even if a minor legally consumes alcohol under parental supervision, the repercussions of any that minor’s intoxicated actions (DUI, death, etc.) would fall squarely on that minor’s parents.
In short, drinking is legal for minors while only in the presence of a parent. This means that on particular occasions, such as Thanksgiving, giving your child a glass of wine is perfectly okay.
However, it appears as if the Thanksgiving glass of wine is under attack by Sen. Maharath. Logically, if you follow her statements, this is the only type of underage drinking left to outlaw, and she seems to want to do just that.
Matthew Geiger is a freshman studying economics at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Matthew? Tweet him @Mattg444.
