Wisconsin's Alcohol Laws: An Invite for More Underage Drinking or a Change in the State's Drinking Culture?

Underage drinking is a widespread problem in Wisconsin. According to the Center for
Disease Control, 49% of underage drinkers in Wisconsin had at least one drink of alcohol on one or more occasion in the past 30 days. According to The Associated Press, The Wisconsin Assembly recently passed a law that minors cannot drink at bars with parental consent. Before this, anyone under twenty one could drink at a bar with their legal guardian. Bartenders could even decide whether to serve them or not. I have many friends who have parents who purchased them alcohol since they were fifteen. They are alive and healthy today, and are smart drinkers.
This law changed under the bill passed by Assembly on a bipartisan 56-41 vote. The Wisconsin Medical Society and the Tavern League of Wisconsin support the new law, and a national youth rights group opposes it. They believe it is a family matter. I personally feel that the government has made a mistake because this new law will not solve the drinking problem in Wisconsin.

Dr. Mike Miller specializes in substance abuse, and he thinks that this law will address binge drinking in the state, because statistics show that young drinkers are more likely to develop addictions. Police are also in favor because they think parents should not be given discretion anymore. However, vice president of Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac, Julie Coquard spoke against the proposal at the hearing. “Education should be the key, not prohibition,” she explained. I agree with the youth rights group which claims that underage drinking is a family issue. Parents are responsible for their children as long as they are minors. If anything happens to their children, parents accept the punishment. That is why it was legal for only the guardians to purchase alcohol. If a child dies or gets sick from it, the parents are in trouble with the law. If legal guardians are responsible for every dangerous situation their child puts themselves in, why
can’t they buy them alcohol? They will hopefully be able to keep their child from over drinking, because they bear the burden of responsibility.

Furthermore, not only underage drinkers drink heavily. According to the national Beer Institute, Wisconsin ranked sixth in beer
consumption in 2006, with an average of 38.2 gallons consumed for every person 21 and older. Teenagers have a natural tendency to rebel, and that is why binge drinking is a problem in America . If alcohol was not forbidden to them, maybe binge drinking rates would decline.

Underage drinkers already use fake ID’s ; I don’t know how many and I think that this law will increase the number of minors who will. If people’s parents are not willing to buy them alcohol, they can use a fake ID and buy it themselves. I wonder what will happen to minors I knew whose parents bought them alcohol’ – notice the reduction of words. The only other way to get it is to get a fake ID. According to
Wisconsin state statute, the penalty for possessing false identification for persons 17 to 20 years old is $491.They will not be breaking the law if their guardian’s could legally buy it. I think parents who purchase their children alcohol may even encourage them to buy a fake ID, after hearing this law .

In conclusion, I don’t believe this law is not solving the problem of Wisconsin’s drinking culture, nor is stopping underage and binge drinking . Prevention through education is the key to change this state’s drinking habits, because you cannot fully stop everyone . Young people are going to drink.
Sometimes you need to experience to learn, and this law is prohibiting drinking fully. Being a good drinker means knowing your limit, and that is what the issue is in Wisconsin. This is why the law that only eighteen to twenty year olds can drink alcohol with parental consent at a bar should not be enforced.