[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday November 13, 2007 at 10:21pm]
Scratch Mankato
I have a short list of cities I will never live in or at least again: Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis, and Richfield. These cities all have poorly run and/or overly repressive governments. It looks like I should add Chaska and now Mankato to the list.
They have laws holding adults responsible for underage drinking occurring on their premises. These are "zero tolerance" - "photocop" style laws that charge you with crimes you cannot reasonably expect to prevent.
As I heard it explained on the news tonight, if you own a house, you go out of town on business, and your teenager hosts a kegger, you are guilty. Even if the alcohol is brought in by a party guest, you are guilty. The only sure way to avoid prosecution is to not have kids, putting what number you have up for adoption. I don't get this. What would these people have us do to avoid this?
Even if I've got this wrong, that it isn't this overreaching, it soon will be as the smoking ban demonstrates.
They have laws holding adults responsible for underage drinking occurring on their premises. These are "zero tolerance" - "photocop" style laws that charge you with crimes you cannot reasonably expect to prevent.
As I heard it explained on the news tonight, if you own a house, you go out of town on business, and your teenager hosts a kegger, you are guilty. Even if the alcohol is brought in by a party guest, you are guilty. The only sure way to avoid prosecution is to not have kids, putting what number you have up for adoption. I don't get this. What would these people have us do to avoid this?
Even if I've got this wrong, that it isn't this overreaching, it soon will be as the smoking ban demonstrates.
Though of course, I remember nothing.