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Promoting A Safer Community
Even one parent can influence policy makers and enforcement agencies and help assure a safe and healthy environment. MADD urges you to get involved by taking the steps below. Step 1: Support strong laws. Tell lawmakers that you support the 21 minimum drinking age and want to cut off teens’ ability to obtain alcohol. Encourage programs that: Require registration and tracking of beer kegs. Support social host laws that penalize adults who host underage drinking parties. Limit new or renewed liquor licenses in your community. Support 21 minimum age purchase laws.
Step 3: Involve educators.
Contact your schools and colleges and ask what they’re doing to prevent underage drinking. When looking at college campuses with your teen, understand and question college policies on underage drinking to ensure your teen is safe. Step 4: Hold advertisers accountable. When you see alcohol marketing that targets young people, complain and push to have that advertising removed.
For more information, visit madd.org/powerofparents
Step 2: Push for strong enforcement.
Get Behind 21 Numerous studies show the 21 drinking age law has reduced underage drinking and saved thousands of lives.
Ask police officials and judges to actively enforce “zero tolerance” laws and programs that fight underage drinking. For example: After an underage drinker has a traffic crash, officials should find out how the youths got the alcohol and hold those parties accountable. Identify and penalize retailers that illegally sell alcohol to youth. Support sanctions against youth who attempt to purchase alcohol or who use fake IDs to purchase alcohol.
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