Depends on where you draw the line, but if it’s at 16+ just ask for a license and use the same policy bars and places that sell cigarettes and such are supposed to, no ID means no admission.
Purely coincidentally, Tower City is also a huge financial failure. The only thing that keeps people moving through the mall is that it contains downtown’s primary public transit stop-- Nobody drives there, since you have to pay for parking. I would have thought that they’d encourage teens hanging out, since there’s at least a chance they’ll buy something.
What’s she selling?
I don’t think my state has a law against minors being in a bar. In fact, I know they don’t, because here it’s legal for a parent to buy and serve their underage child a drink, but good luck convincing a bartender of that! It’s just a lot easier for bar owners to cover their legal ass(ets) by banning those under age. As a parent, I’ve always been able to bring my kid in, introducing him to the owner, saying, “this is my kid, I’m responsible for him he won’t drink, I promise” and then keeping him at my side constantly while we watch whatever band we came to see. I doubt he’d be able to get in on his own, though.
So bars and nightclubs in my state are definitely setting their own age restriction policies.
As a compromise I’ve seen convienence stores limit the number of students in the store at one time.
Anyone else here seen a sign on the door “Only 3 students at a time allowed.?”
I would guess that if one person outside the permitted age limit came in and was quiet and well-behaved, the proprietor would “forget” that he/she was there. OTOH, such a rule would enable the prop. to kick out rowdy and obnoxious types and mobs more easily.
And in multiple states I’ve seen bars/music venues that would have All-ages shows, 18+ shows and 21+ shows on different nights. I assume it’s the venue owners deciding on a show-by-show basis whether enough whippersnappers are going to come to make it worth the hassle of keeping track of who’s allowed to drink, rather than any government decree.
I do wonder why 18+ shows exist. I guess just to keep out the teenagers.
They also don’t want to give a seat to someone that certainly won’t be buying high-margin alcoholic drinks–sure, not all the people over 21 do, either, but it’s more likely.
It’s safer to actually check the laws in your state than go by what people actually do. Does your state actually allow minors to enter a bar while accompanied by an adult? Is it any adult, or only a parent or guardian?
Aw, geez, I was looking at Indiana, not Illinois! Oops!
Illinois leaves the bar question up to the city or local government:
Actually, I have seen that.
There is a potential problem with the discretionary enforcement **MLS **mentions. If the policy is differentially enforced against a specific race, then there would be a legal problem. And if it is perceived as differentially enforced against a specific race, the owner would already have a PR problem and need to defend himself against the accusation.
Jeez. I don’t know what stores you guys have in your malls, but if they were to ban teens from our’s, half the mall would be out of business within a year.
What, pray tell, would be the legal basis of a lawsuit? :dubious:
adult content, I go to several “Freak Shows” a year where part of the act is something that would be rated r or worse. if the Band has a big enough under 21 draw the venue can make the show 18+ instead of all ages
I see this notice at a gas station convenience store I frequent. I’ve always wondered how enforceable it is, since I am a 27 year old student going for my Doctorate. Am I allowed in the store with 3 other students in High School?
In some places, it is indeed illegal for businesses to discriminate based on age. Oregon prohibits age discrimination against customers 18 or older, but makes exceptions for the drinking age and offering special rates to customers 55 and up. This came up in another thread a couple weeks ago, and some quick searching revealed that at least California, Illinois, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island also have similar laws, as does New York City.
(California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act doesn’t specifically mention age, but courts have interpreted it as prohibiting arbitrary age discrimination, and indeed “all arbitrary discrimination by business establishments”.)