Are legislators going to try to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed?
Legislators of both parties say they are ready to revamp a state law that took effect this summer requiring anyone buying carryout alcohol in Indiana to show a photo ID.
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Democratic Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary tells the Post-Tribune that all legislators must have been asleep when they passed a law requiring a 70-year-old like himself to show an ID at a liquor store.
Republican Sen. Jim Merritt of Indianapolis says he would propose changing the law to have clerks check the ages of customers who appear younger than 40.
Common sense and my experience with the law so far tell me those who sell liquor like the law just the way it is. Requiring ID from everybody takes all the guesswork out of it and reduces the chances of mistakenly selling booze to minors. If you bring subjective judgment back into it, even the benchmark of "appearing 40," there are going to be lapses.
I know there are some, shall we say, super adults, who object crankily to the dumbness of having to show ID; we've printed a couple of letters to the editor from them. And I have to admit I've felt a little silly from time to time for having to flash one. But, really. I go into the liquor store with both my ID and debit card in hand, and it must add, oh, gee, 10 seconds to the whole process. Of all the things that complicate our lives, this one has to be near the bottom of the list.
