Old people of the island unite! You have nothing to lose but your drivers’ licenses!
Ever since Edwin Tanji wrote the story “When buying liquor, expect to be carded” in the June 4, 2006 Maui News about how the county Department of Liquor Control was really cracking the whip on licensees to get them to card everyone—whether they sport acne or liver spots, it makes no difference—who wants to buy a bottle of beer or glass of Chablis on this rock, Maui’s senior citizens have been in open revolt.
“This latest carding game is absolutely ludicrous!” harrumphed the “anonymous” Up Front Lahaina column in the June 21, 2006 Lahaina News. “I stood next to a lady who was refused a bottle of wine by a 17-year-old clerk because she didn’t have her ID. The lady was 80 years old!… [A] word to the Liquor Commission and whomever you report to: grow up! We are not children, and you are not the guardians of our morals.”
None of this is new. For years, the LC has been fining restaurants, bars, supermarkets and convenience stores thousands of dollars for not asking to see every single liquor-buying customer’s identification. It’s one of the LC’s rules—Section 08-101-61(b) of the Rules of the Liquor Commission, to be exact:
“Licensees are responsible for the checking or for the proper checking of personal identification of those persons seeking admission to, or any person ordering, being furnished, in possession of, or consuming liquor within, the premises where liquor is sold for consumption on the premises; or any person in possession of or seeking to purchase liquor at premises where liquor is sold for consumption off the premises.”
Translation: everyone gets carded.
Now here’s some good news for all you outraged drinkers of legal age—the LC is overhauling its rules. Sometime this year they’re supposed to hold public hearings on proposed rule changes.
So let the LC know how you feel! You can call them at 244-7753, write them at Department of Liquor Control, 2145 Kaohu St., Room 105, Wailuku, HI 96793 or email them at liquor@co.maui.hi.us. I’m sure they’ll love to hear from you.
-Anthony Pignataro
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