Stakes go up for parents hosting teen drinking parties

Arnett teens whose parents allow them to host parties at home could find their guardians and adult friends less willing to take that chance.

Mid January, Arnett City Council members approved a resolution in their city for an ordinance that holds parents and other adults legally responsible for hosting parties where minors are permitted to drink. They are the second municipality in the region to adopt such an ordinance. The City of Laverne adopted what it calls the “Social Host Ordinance” late last year. At present, Arnett depends on the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department to enforce the ordinance.

The Arnett ordinance applies a fine of $500 to parents, adults and even commercial property owners found guilty of knowingly allowing minors to drink on their property.

However, Arnett Mayor, Eunice Wise said the trustees of the town were careful not to violate the spirit of the small town community where a family might gather for a religious celebration that might include wine.

“I like how this ordinance reads,” Wise said. “We took the one that Edmond passed and tailored it to our smaller town like Laverne did.”

But make no mistakes about it, she said, parents or adults who think they can find a loophole in this ordinance will be disappointed. The ordinance - all seven pages of it - clearly defines what constitutes the offense and is a step toward holding parents, even well meaning ones, accountable for allowing teens or minors to drink alcohol on their property.

Wise said with the increase in underage drinking in the region, it is a step toward beginning to gain some positive ground.

Many in the region are pushing for the trend to continue, but tracking towns that have passed such ordinances is difficult, said Ernie Tye, area coordinator for “2 Much 2 Lose.” 2 Much 2 Lose is an organization sponsored by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to reduce underage drinking.

“That we know of, there are 22 communities in Oklahoma that have passed social host ordinances,” Tye said. “But I am so heartened by what I am seeing now.”

Richard Royal is the former mayor of Arnett.

“I heard about this and we were looking at something like it,” he said. “I think it is awesome that they have passed this because we need to begin to be able to hold parents accountable.

Royal said, during the four years he was mayor, he heard of many such parties where parents, who thought they were doing their children a favor by hosting these parties, were only contributing to the idea that drinking is OK.

“They think they are doing the right thing-they are taking keys-but then they lose track of who is there and then kids leaving their vehicles and who knows what happens then,” he said.

To critics who suggest this type of ordinance will just push youths, who are going to drink anyway, into sneaking around to do it, Royal says “Good. I think that it should be harder to find ways to drink instead of being made easier and seemingly acceptable by parents who sponsor the behavior.”

But perhaps 16-year old Arnett High School student, Chelsea Keller says it best.

“First of all, we are minors and are not supposed to be drinking,” she said. “It is already illegal and that is all parents need to know.”