LAW ALLOWING DRUNKEN MINORS TO CALL 911?

I saw the following editorial in The News Herald on Sunday, January 29, 2012 and cut it out of the paper. Two of my granddaughters had called earlier and asked if they could spend the day with us and I thought “what a great opportunity to pose this question to them.”

When they were here I asked them “if you and your friends were out drinking, and you know that you are all underage and not supposed to be drinking, but one of your friends drinks way too much and becomes ill and then passes out, would you call 911 or would you be afraid of getting into trouble for underage drinking?

They both responded, without hesitation, that they would call 911 to get help for their friend. I was so proud of them and told them how proud I was of them and that they had made a very “adult” decision.

I then told them about this bill introduced in the Michigan Legislature that could make the decision to call for help much easier.

(I have paraphrased or shortened the editorial somewhat).

EDITORIAL: Bill allowing drunken minors to call for help makes sense

Published: Sunday, January 29, 2012 in The News Herald

Picture this: A couple of teens are drinking. One drinks way too much and passes out. The other, recognizing the risk to health and life, is ready to call 911.

But wait…it’s a crime to be in possession of or drinking alcohol if you’re under 21. Does the teen really want to make that call on behalf of a friend? The adult response, the answer from most adults, would be “Of course!”

Teens don’t always think that through. Nor for that matter do all adults. A bill pending in the Michigan House of Representatives would remove the hesitation.

Introduced by Rep. Anthony Forlini (R-Harrison Twp.), it would waive prosecution and grant amnesty to minors who have been drinking but who contact authorities seeking help for themselves or another person.

Waiving prosecution for a greater good seems uncommonly smart. “Underage drinking,” Forlini said, “is prevalent on our college campuses and through the communities. “Dangerous situations can occur when a minor drinks too much. Students put their classmates in danger because nobody wants to call for help because they fear being charged with “a minor in possession.” The bill makes it quite clear that they wouldn’t get in trouble by making that call.

Forlini said he doesn’t “want to see any parent lose a child because a teen was afraid to call for help.”

And he doesn’t want to see a minor punished for doing the right thing, regardless of who is being helped. It appears to us a legal chink in the false protection of zero tolerance, and that’s all to the good. We’re not sure what the limits of Forlini’s bill will turn out to be. Will a drunken teenager be in trouble if he seeks help for an entirely sober stranger? Will kids somehow learn to game the new law? Will the law operate differently if someone in a group of drinking teens calls 911? Surely not all would merit amnesty. The bill has advanced to the House floor. However it deals with the questions above, it deserves to become law.

What are your thoughts, how do you feel?  And so the journey begins...