Napervillains
Agitator blog
Naperville, Illinois enters the "most asinine neoprohibitionist law on the books" contest:
In the last six months, Julie Beata, 19, said she has received two citations from Naperville police for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Both times, said the North Central College freshman, she was picking up underage friends who had had a few drinks at a party.
Beata was in violation of Naperville's presence restriction ordinance, said to be the first such law in the nation. The law allows non-drinkers under 21 to be ticketed if they are knowingly in the company of underage people drinking alcohol.
"I understand what they are trying to do, but I also think it's stopping people from [getting] safe rides home," Beata said. "I know a lot of people ended up driving home that shouldn't have."
... Local authorities view the presence restriction as essential to Naperville's quest to curb underage drinking, however.
"If you are at a party [where underage drinking is taking place] and you are under 21, you don't belong there, and you need to leave," said Naperville Police Sgt. Joel Truemper. "We're trying to protect people."
...from themselves.
So now the only way Naperville underage drinkers can find a way home from parties where there's underage drinking....is to ride home with others underage drinkers.
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