Ohio Requires Registration Beer Kegs, Access to Parties August 8, 2000
News Summary
As of Aug. 9, people in Ohio who plan to buy five or more kegs of beer must register their parties and wait five days before picking up their beer, the Associated Press reported Aug. 8.The new state rule is aimed at helping police become more aware of potentially disruptive parties. Under the law, party planners are required to give the party sites to beer distributors. They also must agree to allow liquor agents and police on their property to enforce state liquor laws.
Beer distributors, in turn, must furnish the party information to the state or face penalties ranging from a $100 fine to loss of license.
Police and others expect the law to be difficult to enforce and easy to circumvent. "This is another attempt to deal with a morality issue by making rules," said Kent Police Chief James Peach. "It's not so much a problem of the drinking of alcoholic beverages, but rather of the behavior associated with it."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is more concerned about the part of the law that requires party planners to allow police onto their property.
"The provision makes people surrender their Fourth Amendment right to reasonable searches for the opportunity to engage in perfectly legal activities -- being adults and drinking alcohol," said Raymond Vasvari, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio.
But Susan Watiker, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, countered the ACLU's concerns, saying party organizers would have the right to ask officers to leave and obtain a search warrant.
While Mike Widner, assistant to the director of Ohio's Liquor Control Commission, acknowledged loopholes in the state's rules, he said the law's intent is to protect distributors from being accused of selling kegs to underage consumers.
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