New Law Cracks Down on Minors Using Fake ID's

State officials hope a new law will make liquor like this even more inaccessible to minors.

A new law will crack down on minors using fake IDs starting this summer, but not everyone is sure it will work. MPB’s Cari Gervin explains.

Before Senate Bill 2616 was signed into law last month, it was a misdemeanor for minors to use a fake driver’s license to purchase alcohol. But if that same minor used some other fake identification, like a school ID, he couldn’t be charged. The new law closes this loophole and institutes a penalty of up to $500 in fines and 30 days of community service for presenting any form of false identification.

Kathy Waterbury of the Mississippi State Tax Commission – which runs the Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control – says the department is hopeful the law will cut down on minors using fake ID's.

“It’s a public safety issue, first and foremost, because if, for instance, they should have an accident, medical attention could be delayed because nobody knows who they are and nobody can identify them.”

Lauren is a sophomore at the University of Mississippi. She declined to give her last name, since she often drinks underage. She says she doesn’t own a fake ID but most of her friends do. And Lauren says the threat of fines won’t change people’s behavior, since she says many bartenders don’t care if the ID's are fake.

“‘Cause normally I know the people that use ID's - it’s more like the people that sell them the beer that’s the ones letting them do it, because, like, they know that it’s not real.”

At Star Package in Oxford, owner Jeannie Zinn is someone who always checks IDs. But she also says she doubts the new law will affect the number of minors using fake ones.

“Probably not, because they all think it won’t happen to them. They’re clever, they’re smart, they won’t get caught.”

The law will take effect July 1. For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin in Oxford.