BISMARCK - The punishment for supplying alcohol to minors needs to be tougher to be taken seriously, a state senator said today.
Sen. Elroy Lindaas, D-Mayville, is proposing a bill that would set a minimum mandatory sentence of a $250 fine and 48 consecutive hours imprisonment for a first offense of knowingly delivering alcohol to minors.
Second or subsequent offenses would have a minimum sentence of a $500 fine and 10 days imprisonment, of which 48 hours must be served consecutively.
Some people seem to think giving alcohol to minors is a harmless act and there are no consequences, Lindaas said.
He told the Senate Judiciary Committee of how he lost a niece and nephew on two separate occasions as a result of being hit by drunken drivers.
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The driver who killed his nephew was 13 years old, drunk and accompanied by a person over 21 who had supplied the alcohol, he said.
Aaron Birst, a representative of the North Dakota State's Attorneys Association, said his heart goes out to anyone who has lost a loved one from drunk driving.
However, the association opposes measures that impose minimum mandatory sentences without allowing for any discretion from a judge, he said.
The committee did not act on the bill today. It plans to further discuss the issue further tomorrow.
