Unnecessary ID requirements infringe on hospitality
Some years ago, a distinguished European classical musician, celebrated as virtuoso and teacher, conducted a master class at UNM. The man was 71 years old.
When he and his students went for dinner at a university-area restaurant, the waiter happily served beer and wine to the students, some of whom were a full half-century younger than their teacher. But the waiter refused to serve the teacher because he had neglected to bring his passport to dinner.
My wife had organized the master class and was present for this mortifying example of New Mexico hospitality. It prompted one of my earliest columns, complaining about the whole “papers, please!” rigmarole around alcohol sales in New Mexico’s restaurants and bars. Why did servers feel compelled to card 71-year-olds?
Because of dumb laws, of course. At the time, and until 2021, New Mexico had on its books a statute that required servers to check for ID each and every time they sold alcoholic beverages. But the statute imposed no penalties for non-compliance. It had no enforcement mechanism. Instead, a completely different statute imposed penalties for sales to persons under 21. It was as if one statute didn’t know what the other was doing.
Happily, in 2021, the Legislature fixed the most glaring absurdities. In that year, it changed the statute that regulates ID checks (section 60-7B-5) in two different ways.
First, where the statute had previously said servers “must” refuse sales to a person without ID, now it says they “may” refuse. Second, the Legislature added the following new provision: “it is unnecessary to ask for an identity document if the person clearly looks older than thirtyfive years of age.” (Different rules apply to alcohol deliveries.)
Now, saying an ID check is “unnecessary” if the customer is clearly 36 or older implies that it is necessary at other times, which doesn’t mesh with the “may” that makes an ID check optional. Still, the 2021 amendment was a huge improvement.
Or it would be, if only supermarket cashiers followed the law. A few months ago I received an email from a reader who wrote that he and his wife had retired here from the Midwest but after several years had decided to move back. “Beautiful state, nice weather,” he wrote, but he found that “hospitality is non-existent.”
He mentioned one thing in particular: “Requiring an ID for an alcohol purchase from someone at [a supermarket] who does not look old enough to sell it is puke worthy.” He was writing two years after the change in the law.
An ID check might seem like a small thing — a small hassle and small indignity — so why put so much weight on it? But it’s still a hassle and still an indignity and it serves no earthly purpose.
More than that, asking for ID
is an implicit accusation that the customer is lying about his or her age. It’s also an accusation of a crime, because buying alcohol when underage is a misdemeanor, just like smallscale shoplifting. Demanding ID belongs in the same category as demanding that a customer empty their purse or turn out their pockets. It’s not trivial.
The goal is to keep alcohol out of the hands of children. A good, worthwhile goal. But hassling middle-aged and elderly people doesn’t get us any closer to achieving that goal. It’s like trying to improve public school test scores by mandating test prep courses in retirement homes.
I know from personal experience that my correspondent’s experience isn’t unique. Just a few weeks ago I dashed over to a nearby chain grocery store to pick up a couple items for dinner. On an impulse, I grabbed a 6-pack of Athletic non-alcoholic beer. In case you haven’t heard, the best nonalcoholic beers now taste as good as the other kind, with many fewer calories and the added bonus that your head remains clear and your ulcer quiescent.
When I reached the front of the line, the cashier demanded to see my ID. I’ll admit, some part of me was impressed that the store had figured out a way to dial the ridiculousness up to 11. But I haven’t been back.
If you fly anywhere in the western United States, you’re bound to see some of those expensive “New Mexico True” ads inviting tourists to come marvel at our state’s natural beauty. How many tourists accept the invitation only to be accused by our cashiers of committing an absurd crime?
Holders of New Mexico liquor licenses have been given legal permission to treat their customers with respect. They need to take advantage of it.