Parkville High School senior Ben Lau took Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. on a tour of the Internet yesterday -- and showed him the equivalent of a virtual liquor store.
With a few clicks of a mouse, he led the Baltimore County Republican to a screen that would have permitted him to order cases of beer for home delivery with a credit card. The electronic form never asked whether Ben, 17, was of legal age to purchase alcohol.
"It took only 30 seconds to do the whole thing," Ehrlich said at a news conference in the high school's media center to publicize a bill he has proposed to protect minors -- and state alcohol tax revenues. "We need to find ways to stop that."
Charging that state regulators often are powerless to stop the illegal mail order and delivery of alcohol, Ehrlich's bill would allow states to take out-of-state alcohol manufacturers to federal court for such violations.
The proposal is supported by many big alcohol manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers but opposed by small wineries that see the Internet as a means to expand their national clientele.
Twenty-one states, including Maryland, prohibit the direct shipment of alcohol but say that they often cannot enforce their laws -- leaving state taxes unpaid and potentially permitting minors to order alcohol.
A dozen states share reciprocal agreements permitting the direct shipment of wine, and the rest allow direct shipment of alcohol with tight regulations.
Alcohol manufacturers estimate that states lost as much as $200 million to $400 million in unpaid taxes last year because of illegal mail order alcohol shipments, Ehrlich said.
"The point is that states like Maryland are not being paid the appropriate taxes," said Aaron Stansbury, assistant director of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Unit of the Maryland state comptroller's office.
While yesterday's news conference focused on the availability of alcohol on the Internet to minors, few examples exist of teen-agers ordering beer or wine with computers, except in government sting operations.
"It's not a problem yet, but this will help to stop it from becoming a big problem," said Parkville senior Dana Paugh, 17, who is president of the school's chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).
Parkville sophomore Kelly Standiford, who is Baltimore County's high school SADD coordinator, added: "My peers are going to take their parents' credit card numbers because they want to buy alcohol, and all they'll have to do is click a few buttons and order the alcohol."
