We are very disappointed by the result of the Wednesday, November 6th City Council meeting. South Bay Youth for Change attended the meeting in order to request that council members change the social host law that is in place at this time. We witnessed the Mayor and Council members delay the necessary revision of the Social Host Ordinance. The proposed new ordinance would allow law enforcement to hold adults liable for providing an environment where underage drinking can take place.
A “Social Host” is anyone who knowingly hosts underage drinking parties on property that they own, lease, or otherwise control. Social Host Ordinance assigns responsibility to those who knew or should have known underage drinking was occurring on their property.
Underage drinking is a serious problem that can lead to alcohol poisoning, accidental injuries, car crashes, and even death. Alcohol is also a factor in more than half of youth suicides. The current law was challenged in court in 2004 and was struck down. Council members must not realize that the Imperial Beach law is now ineffective. The proposed revision will address weaknesses and provide law enforcement with everything that they need to prosecute anyone in violation. All but five cities in San Diego County have updated their ordinance and Imperial Beach, unfortunately, is still one of them.
South Bay Youth for Change would like to encourage Imperial Beach to lead the way for the remaining cities and to bring up to date the law that will help to prevent underage drinking. We are simply asking that council members require that party hosts verify the age of their guests, control access to those who are the age of 21, and supervise the activities of minors when there is alcohol present. We feel that adults must take all necessary precautions to keep youth safe. As members of South Bay Youth for Change, we would like to see that Imperial Beach cares about the health and safety of its residents, especially when it comes to youth.
