Social hosting ordinance approved

The Norman Transcript

Sat, May 17 2008

— Transcript Staff Writer
Adults wanting to provide alcohol for minors will want to think twice after Norman city councilmembers unanimously passed a social hosting ordinance at their Tuesday night regular meeting.
Ward 8 councilmember Dan Quinn, a former principal at Norman High and Norman North high schools, said some very unfortunate things happened when adults provide liquor or drugs for underage partiers.
"I want this to be a tool for parents ... and give them the backbone and the support to say no," Quinn said, about parents bowing to pressure from their teenage children to throw parties in their homes or in other venues. "I've studied this ... I've looked at it. This is a positive step to help adults deal with this in an adult way."
The ordinance is expected to reduce easy access to alcohol by youth and hold teens and adults accountable for allowing underage drinking on their premises or at gatherings they sponsor. The new law includes a prohibition against harmful substances and drugs.
Persons convicted of violating the ordinance can be punished by a fine of not less than $50 or more than $750 and imprisonment not to exceed 60 days.
The law is expected to reduce consequences of underage drinking, including traffic crashes and fatalities, sexual assault and alcohol poisoning.
Ward 7 councilmember Doug Cubberley said adults who host parties for underage persons are "wrongheaded."
"We can't allow the parties to go on," said Cubberley, whose southeast Norman ward encompasses many campus apartments. "This is a tool, one of several tools ... to get the adults to be more responsible."
Norman's ordinance also provides for recouping response costs including salaries and benefits of law enforcement, code enforcement, fire or other emergency response personnel for time spent responding to dealing with an event where alcohol or drugs are available to underage persons, cost of medical treatment for any city personnel injured responding to a gathering and cost of repairing any city equipment or property damaged.
City Attorney Jeff Bryant said a similar statute has passed in the Oklahoma State Senate and is being considered in the House of Representatives.
Several other area cities have passed similar ordinances, including Moore, Midwest City, Edmond, Yukon, Mustang, Shawnee and Tecumseh.
Carol Cole-Frowe 366-3538 ccole@normantranscript.com