<p>I believe that in many circles it is VERY unusual to have fake IDs, especially among young people who aspire to work for the federal government or any job that MAY require background checks. I have seen many sad people in court who thought it was “OK” to have a fake ID & had no idea how much heartache it would cause the person who held the ID & anyone who was involved in allowing them to get it, including the friend who did anything to help enable it. Both got into a lot of trouble & it WAS on their records. Not sure if it would be permanent bar to them getting a job that involves a security clearance, but why would one take that gamble? Amazing the risks folks assume “for fun.”</p>
<p>Why defend alcohol use for those 18-20yo? What good comes of it? Those who break the law (“I had a fake ID, my kid has one”) always feel the need to defend their actions by saying “everyone is doing it.” MOST college students do not have/use fake IDs. </p>
<p>Would our society be better off if everyone had a fake ID? Or would it be better if everyone obeyed the law regarding alcohol use? What if EVERYONE did some small illegal thing–like littering–that they were unlikely to be caught at? Or even something legal, but discourteous–like leaving your shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot? “What if everyone did this?” is a good test to see if something is an “okay” or a “good” thing to do. That’s what I tell my kids. There are laws that are for the good of society in general that may not suit our individual situation, or may make things inconvenient or less pleasurable for us personally at the moment. </p>
<p>Why should anyone pick on or put down those who agree with the law? Would you be unhappy or ashamed if your kid didn’t use a fake ID? </p>
<p>In my universe, no one uses a fake ID. And this is where I’m staying.</p>
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<p>IMO, there also isn’t one when it comes to the message the parent will be delivering depending on whether their response is blase’ or critical.</p>
<p>Bay, in the literal sense they are all different but on a fundamental level they are all illegal. I guess it’s just a personal decision to how relative the levels of illegality are and should be when it pertains to one’s offspring.</p>
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<p>Can you imagine saying that to Child Protective Services when your 16 yo HS student gets caught or to the judge at the sentencing hearing for falsifying identity documents for your 20 yo college offspring? </p>
<p>“Hey, I don’t think its a big deal, and I’m their parent”</p>
<p>Nice in theory–not so much in practice.</p>
<p>That’s my point, O7DAD. I truly do not think it is a big deal for a 20-year old to use someone else’s ID (with their permission) to buy a drink. I really don’t. I disagree with the age-limit law and would love to see it revised. This would eliminate so much consternation and waste of resources that would be better spent in other law-enforcement areas. Do you really think that it is so terrible for a 20 -year old to have a drink when it is perfectly okay for a 21-year old to have a drink? I realize we need to draw a line somewhere, but it logically ought to be at age 18. Otherwise we ought to change the age of adulthood to 21. Right now, 18-20 year olds are treated like juveniles when it comes to alcohol, but punished like adults for drinking it. I do think it likely that the law will be changed, especially because so many colleges and universities are in favor of the change.</p>
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<p>I’m going to have to violent disagree with you there, denise. Do you really think that date-rape and using someone else’s ID to buy a drink are simply “relative” levels of illegality when it pertains to one’s offspring? If you got the call that your son was in jail because he date-raped a girl, would you feel the same as a call about his use of someone’s ID to buy a drink? I hope not.</p>
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<p>If society enacted a law that prohibited alcohol completely, would the hard-liners here still obediently accept the end of their own right to drink a beer?</p>
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<p>But then the 17 year old kids are going to say if 18 year olds can drink, why can’t I? There has to be a line drawn somehwere and right now it is 21.</p>
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<p>Federal offense or not, it is still illegal. </p>
<p>Can you please answer this: Who in their right mind would give their ID to a minor so that they can buy alcohol?</p>
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<p>Your daughter sounds like a very intelligent young woman. Good for her that she knows the consequences for her actions.</p>
<p>Bay, I’m not saying they are relative crimes. I was simply mentioning other crimes which college students have been known to partake. In the past date rape was barely even considered a crime. Now it’s a big one. Shoplifting used to be considered somewhat of a prank or maybe a dare but not anymore. </p>
<p>Time and changes in the the society have placed more emphasis on some crimes (like the ones I mentioned) and have looked the other way with others. Like pot. It’s in flux right now and chances are very good it will be decriminalized (for which I support) while possessing a fake ID can get you in trouble with Homeland Security something that was impossible before 9/11.</p>
<p>One can say that how the country has viewed the last two crimes has been relative to changes in the society just as date rape and shoplifting have.</p>
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<p>What do you mean if society enacts laws? Society doesn’t enact laws.</p>
<p>I don’t drink, so it would not be a problem for me.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks for clarifying denise. I think I understand what you are saying now.</p>
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<p>Their friends and siblings give it to them, so they can go out together.</p>
<p>Editing this post to add that we are not talking about “minors” here. We are talking about ADULTS using other adults’ IDs in order to buy a drink.</p>
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<p>So their friends and siblings were willing to go to jail for your daughters so they can go out together?</p>
<p>You keep making excuses. I don’t care that adults were giving other adults ID’s to use. People over 21 were giving people under 21 their ID’s to obtain alcohol illegally.</p>
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<p>I don’t want to debate whether it’s okay to use a fake id or someone else’s but I do think it’s important for parents to be fully informed about the possible consequences if your underage child gets caught.</p>
<p>In my state, the state police can and do patrol the bars located near the colleges. It’s an automatic lost of state scholarship money as well as the possibility of lost of college merit aid. You have to sign a form every semester stating you understand this. At son’s school, you can also be kicked out of the dorm for alcohol related incidents (though they do give you 2 warnings).</p>
<p>Also, if you are caught trying to buy alcohol with an ID that doesn’t belong to you or is fake, you can lose your license for 90 days. Ditto for the person providing the ID to someone else.</p>
<p>If I knew son was using a fake ID (or someone else’s) I wouldn’t be happy about it. We have made ourselves perfectly clear that while we can’t stop him from drinking underage, he will lose our financial support if he is caught and loses his scholarship money, etc.</p>
<p>So, yeah, we do care if son uses a fake id or someone else’s. Whether you agree with it or not there is risk involved in doing this and there is a lot of money on the line for some people. All that hard earned scholarship money could be down the toilet in a blink of an eye. :(</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest that parents who think this is no deal deal google ‘False identification for obtaining alcohol in ________state’ and see for yourself what the consequences are where your child attends college. In NY, for example tampering with an ID is punishable by up to 7 years in prison. Once your child is 18, they are treated like an adult when they commit a crime.</p>
<p>We have several parents sitting in jails in our state right now because they thought it was ‘no big deal’ to provide alcohol to underage kids. We also have at least two families in my city who kids died while under the influence of alcohol - alcohol provided by their own parents, BTW.</p>
<p>While I do wish the drinking age was still 18, so we wouldn’t have to contend with some of these issues, at the end of the day, any time you break the law you are taking a risk of being caught. It’s like cancer - the risk of getting many cancers is low but that doesn’t matter when you are that 1 in 100 who gets it. By the same token, while chances are your child won’t get caught, it would sure suck if they did and were prosecuted. It does happen.</p>
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<p>You got it right, insomniac.</p>
<p>They are not going to go to jail by asking someone to hold their ID:</p>
<p>1) My roommate dropped it on the floor and I am just bringing it to her.
2) My older sister left it on the coffee table and I accidentally picked it up.</p>
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<p>Huh? The friends were giving their ID’s to Bay’s daughters to use so they can all get into the club (when Bay’s daughters were under 21). In other words Bay’s daughters were using their friend’s ID’s illegally to get into the clubs.</p>