Craig Daily Press

Craig — To the editor:

I have read all of the stories about the recent liquor violations and the idea of enforcement, and I would like to add a thought.

The only way that law enforcement can be sure that the law is being met is to conduct these random inspections. The point of all of the discussion about what to do and what not to do may have masked the real reason for the law and for the inspections. I have to cite what Delbert Knez said in the paper and that was that all minors who attempt to be served will have their ID confiscated and the police called.

This is the real answer to this subject. It is not about if the police can catch you selling to minors — it is about letting minors know they will not get away with an attempt.

This will take a concerted effort of all of the purveyors, law enforcement and this community to create this atmosphere.

Our society, whether you agree or not, has said it is illegal for anyone younger than 21 to purchase or consume alcohol and that is a legal matter of fact. If all purveyors adopted the idea that Delbert Knez presented in the paper, the random inspections would become only a way to make sure that all employees and businesses were up on the proper procedures to enforce this legislation.

The real culprit here is the person who hosts or furnishes alcohol for minors, no matter the circumstance. These are the people that law enforcement must make a priority to stop, and I think there should be a message sent that we will not tolerate that any more.

I think the attitude of all involved should be let’s work together to make this the best community we can, and random inspections are going to be needed for that.

Maybe a policy that we card if we think you are younger than 30 is a good idea. The idea that people will get upset when you card must be something all of our community has to change, and if you are 38 and get carded, be thankful you look that young and not upset you had to get your ID out.

I am always happy when I am asked for ID and the cashier looks at the back of my credit card to see if my signature even looks right, and I usually thank them for it.

I know that anyone my age will be flattered to be carded, but we as a community might even want to adopt a policy that we hand our ID to the clerk when we purchase beverages and reinforce this idea.

Now, I know that there are people out there who are saying that I have lost my mind, but I also know that when a group of intelligent, hardworking, moral adults do small things, the whole picture changes for the better.

I hope we can make this a great asset for this community rather than the newsworthy story it has become and real change can be made for the future.

Showing my ID

Dave DeRose