After gestating for five months on the back burner of the Legislative Council, a proposed ordinance governing alcohol use by minors in Newtown will be the subject of a public hearing on September 17. The measure has the strong support of Newtown’s Police Commission and Police Chief Michael Kehoe, who drafted the version of the ordinance endorsed by the commission last April. Chief Kehoe calls the measure “another tool in the toolbox to effectively deal with underage drinking.”

Specifically, the proposed ordinance should help stop the persistent practice of some parents in town of hosting “lock-in” parties for teens. (Lock-in parties are parties where adults collect car keys and allow teenagers to drink freely, believing that providing a haven for adolescent substance abuse is somehow a virtue.) Under the terms of the proposed local ordinance, no one under the age of 21 would be allowed to possess or control a closed unopened or opened container of alcohol within the town, except when that underage person is accompanied by his or her parent, guardian, or spouse, who is at least 21 years old. Key provisions of the ordinance would apply the restrictions to both public and private property and would also prohibit adults from hosting events at which alcohol was served to minors unless the parents, guardians, or over-21 spouses of those minors are present. Violations would earn $90 fines for both the teens and their adult hosts.

Loopholes in state law currently do not permit police to breakup lock-in parties on private property. Unfortunately, collecting car keys at the door does not always keep teens who have been drinking off the roads; when it comes to escaping parental supervision, most kids can be Houdinis when they want to be. And even in the safe neighborhoods of Newtown, the roads become extremely dangerous when impaired drivers hit the road. Drunk driving is the one crime routinely committed in this community that can take a person’s life without warning.

The proposed ordinance currently before the Legislative Council is as much a public health and safety issue as it is a law enforcement issue. Lock-in parties were discredited long ago as a “safety measure” for kids. Our local police understand this. We hope the Legislative Council understands this as well and enacts the ordinance soon.