(3/9/99)
Do alcohol sales over the internet turn delivery workers into bartenders for
underage drinkers?
That's what some claim, as companies that sell alcohol on the internet came under attack in Congress.
An assistant Utah Attorney General and the state's senior Senator led the
assault.
Charles Sherrill has that story from our Washington bureau.
Teens too young to buy alcohol legally are now ordering it on the internet
where age is often not an issue, according to Senator Orrin Hatch.
He says, "No longer must a state prosecute just an errant neighborhood retailer
for selling to a minor. Now, the ones selling to minors and others in
violation of a state's regulatory laws are a continent away."
Assistant Utah Attorney General Wayne Klein is now suing an internet merchant
he says showed contempt for state law. "Beer across America was warned that its
shipments of alcohol to Utah were illegal. It responded by promising to halt
any further shipments. Six months later Utah investigators were seizing over a
hundred cases per month," Klein says.
Klein supports legislation Hatch is proposing that would let states use federal
courts to stop electronic sales from beyond their borders. "These invoices from
seized shipments demonstrate not only the defiant continuation of sales but
that in many cases customers were encouraged to list an out of state address
for billing purposes," Klein says.
Web sites selling alcohol publish an age restriction. Some require an adult to
sign for the shipment. Often as not, the contents of the package is not
disclosed.
Klein claims, "And, of alcohol being sent to consumers an estimated 59 percent
is left out on porches or in carports rather than being physically delivered to
an adult."
Other witnesses warned that the Hatch bill could wipe out hundreds of law
abiding owners of small wineries who have little means of marketing their
product except through direct mail and the internet. He can expect strong
opposition from California which has the largest delegation in congress.
Klein concedes that the internet is now responsible for only about ten
percent of illegal alcohol sales to minors.
But if ignored, he predicts, the problem will quickly worsen.
