Alcohol laws to become stricter

Penalties for underage drinking will become more severe in Indiana now that the Indiana General Assembly passed House Bill 1118.\nThe act states minors will be charged with a class C misdemeanor when they present false identification or lie about their age while purchasing an alcoholic beverage.\nThe bill also enables law enforcement officials to charge people over the age of 21 with a class B misdemeanor for consciously selling or providing an alcoholic beverage to a minor.\nLisa Hutcheson, director of the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, helped lobby for the act and thinks it will help reduce underage drinking.\nThrough the organization Hutcheson directs, she testified at meetings and wrote in to various media outlets in support of the act.\n“Laws and policies change the environment,” Hutcheson said.\nHutcheson said she thinks many minors consume alcohol because they do not understand the consequences. She hopes the more severe punishments will change this.\n“Underage drinking is a community problem and we have a collective responsibility to address it through education, enforcement and legislation,” Hutcheson said in an Indiana General Assembly press release.\nHowever, both graduate student Quinton Smith and freshman Sarah Ricker believe the act will not change underage drinking.\n“Spend money on education for smart drinking habits instead of trying to stop it,” Smith said.\nRicker said she knows people who have been caught drinking while underage, but it still has not changed their decision to continue doing so.\nSophomore Drew Gardiner agreed with Smith and Ricker.\n“They’re kind of pointless because there are 13-year-olds drinking,” Gardiner said.\nDespite contrasting views, the act will go into effect in July.\nOne of the act’s co-authors, Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, said he understands that people will always try to get around the law. However, he said the state’s job is to regulate how alcohol is sold and tighten access to it.\n“Part of the message that we have to put forward is that if alcohol is not handled, it cannot become a problem,” Van Haaften said.\nThe act also explains at length who can and cannot sell alcoholic beverages and when they can sell.\nVan Haaften said a large portion of the act is dedicated to defining the requirements for an establishment to be classified as a grocery store because people were confused about what types of grocery stores could sell alcohol.\nThe act also raises the age for cashiers to be able to handle alcoholic beverages at a grocery store to 19, Van Haaften said.\nThe act was co-written by Albion Representative Matt Bell, Hutcheson said. Sens. Thomas Weatherwax, R-18th District, and Marvin Riegsecker, R-12th District, also contributed to the act.