thedrifter
04-22-09, 06:33 AM
Bill would OK use of military ID to buy alcohol
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, April 21, 2009
By JIM MILLER and JEFF HORSEMAN
The Press-Enterprise
SACRAMENTO - An Assembly committee today will consider legislation requiring alcohol sellers to accept military identification cards as proof that a patron is old enough to drink.
The bill stems from problems at the Marine Ball at the Pechanga Casino and Resort near Temecula last fall.
Camp Pendleton Marines, many just days away from deployment to Iraq, tried to order beer or wine. But the resort's servers declined to serve drinks to troops who had only military IDs with them.
The bill by Inland Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries seeks to put the Pechanga resort and other businesses on safe legal ground if they sell alcohol to someone presenting a military ID and nothing else.
"A military ID can get you into any base with a top-secret clearance, but it can't buy you a beer," said Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore.
The Assembly Governmental Organization Committee will consider the legislation today.
California law requires someone to be at least 21 to drink. Under state law, proof of age must include a photo, a physical description, age, and the person's name.
Military IDs included that information until 2000. Since then, height, weight, and other physical descriptions have been electronically encrypted to prevent tampering, according to a committee analysis of the bill.
The difference has led the Pechanga resort and other skittish alcohol vendors to turn off the tap for troops lacking other forms of identification.
Temecula Mayor Maryann Edwards called the situation "one of those things where it's just a hole in the law."
John Carr, a spokesman for the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said California receives a handful of complaints from people who couldn't buy alcohol because they had only a military ID.
Staff Sgt. Jesse Lora, Camp Pendleton's media chief, said the issue of using military identification to buy alcohol hasn't been a major concern. Marines are told to bring California IDs as a backup, he said.
Last March, the Pechanga tribe closed two nightclubs because of unspecified alcohol-related problems.
In a statement this week, a Pechanga official said the tribe's resort and casino has made it clear to event organizers that it will not accept military ID alone as proof someone is 21.
"We have a solemn obligation to our community, our tribe, and our guests to firmly uphold regulations governing the consumption of alcohol," said John Palinkas, president of Pechanga Development Corporation.
"That's why we denied serving alcohol to guests whose ages were questionable and could not be substantiated with another valid form of identification. We are committed to working with the Marine Corps to prevent this in the future," Palinkas said.
Ellie
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, April 21, 2009
By JIM MILLER and JEFF HORSEMAN
The Press-Enterprise
SACRAMENTO - An Assembly committee today will consider legislation requiring alcohol sellers to accept military identification cards as proof that a patron is old enough to drink.
The bill stems from problems at the Marine Ball at the Pechanga Casino and Resort near Temecula last fall.
Camp Pendleton Marines, many just days away from deployment to Iraq, tried to order beer or wine. But the resort's servers declined to serve drinks to troops who had only military IDs with them.
The bill by Inland Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries seeks to put the Pechanga resort and other businesses on safe legal ground if they sell alcohol to someone presenting a military ID and nothing else.
"A military ID can get you into any base with a top-secret clearance, but it can't buy you a beer," said Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore.
The Assembly Governmental Organization Committee will consider the legislation today.
California law requires someone to be at least 21 to drink. Under state law, proof of age must include a photo, a physical description, age, and the person's name.
Military IDs included that information until 2000. Since then, height, weight, and other physical descriptions have been electronically encrypted to prevent tampering, according to a committee analysis of the bill.
The difference has led the Pechanga resort and other skittish alcohol vendors to turn off the tap for troops lacking other forms of identification.
Temecula Mayor Maryann Edwards called the situation "one of those things where it's just a hole in the law."
John Carr, a spokesman for the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said California receives a handful of complaints from people who couldn't buy alcohol because they had only a military ID.
Staff Sgt. Jesse Lora, Camp Pendleton's media chief, said the issue of using military identification to buy alcohol hasn't been a major concern. Marines are told to bring California IDs as a backup, he said.
Last March, the Pechanga tribe closed two nightclubs because of unspecified alcohol-related problems.
In a statement this week, a Pechanga official said the tribe's resort and casino has made it clear to event organizers that it will not accept military ID alone as proof someone is 21.
"We have a solemn obligation to our community, our tribe, and our guests to firmly uphold regulations governing the consumption of alcohol," said John Palinkas, president of Pechanga Development Corporation.
"That's why we denied serving alcohol to guests whose ages were questionable and could not be substantiated with another valid form of identification. We are committed to working with the Marine Corps to prevent this in the future," Palinkas said.
Ellie