Underage Drinking: Success Stories

According to Donna Gutierrez, MADD-Hawaii, several legislators were willing to propose the bill in order to “send a wake-up call” to parents and adults who take lightly the dangers and risks teens pose to themselves and others when they drink, especially when they drink and drive.. Several recent crashes involving teens who had been drinking at parent-hosted parties highlighted the need for a law that would hold adults accountable when they buy or provide alcohol to minors.

Beginning in the fall of 2002, MADD-Hawaii and other organizations began to work with legislators to write a social host bill and to organize grassroots support for the law on each of the islands. When the legislative session began in 2003, MADD-Hawaii and Hawaii Partnership members hit the ground running. Using data from surveys that showed the majority of Hawaiian teens obtain their alcohol from adults, MADD-Hawaii’s Youth in Action team implemented a public information campaign through the media and testified in committee hearings. During the process, they gathered support from key legislators, police officers, and county, and State officials including Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona. Several articles appeared in Honolulu’s two daily newspapers.

Their efforts paid off; in April, both houses of the State legislature passed the bill. On May 20, 2003, Governor Linda Lingle signed the bill into law during a ceremony at a waterfront memorial for victims of drunk-driving crashes in Honolulu. The social host liability law was effective immediately.

The social host liability law establishes criminal penalties of up to one year in jail, fines of up to $1000, or both, for adults who furnish alcoholic beverages to anyone younger than age 21. The previous law only prohibited adults from buying alcohol for minors. Under the new law, adults who “knowingly” provide liquor to someone younger than age 21 or have knowledge of underage drinking on their property and could have prevented it can be held financially responsible for any third party injury that may ensue from their provision.

After working tirelessly to get the law passed, MADD-Hawaii and the Hawaii Partnership to Prevent Underage Drinking are embarking on the toughest part of their effort – educating the public. The message will be carried to all the islands through volunteers and the Hawaii Partnership to Prevent Underage Drinking County Coalitions. , The strategy is to wage a media campaign through television, radio, and local newspapers. They also plan to pass out brochures and coordinate discussion sessions in schools. The resounding message from MADD-Hawaii is, “Providing alcohol to minors is a serious – and even deadly – practice. Parents and other adults need to know that now they can be held both criminally and civilly responsible. It’s the law.”