Issue date: 1/24/10 Section: News and Opinion

What would I have done in the cashier's place? Certainly if I spotted a fake ID, I would do the same thing. It is my job after all to insure that I am selling alcohol in a lawful manner. But if I could not be sure that it was fake (and this woman was clearly uncertain), if I was in doubt based on a lack of knowledge or experience, my personal morality and perspective on the matter would dictate that it is better to make a mistake on the side of allowing someone their freedom as a consumer and as an American, trampled on though it may be, than to assume without evidence that they are lying. What is the great loss here if she had been correct and I was in fact committing a crime? An underage college student drinks beer? Call Elliot Ness and his Untouchables. We need them now more than ever.

It is times like these when all perspective is lost in the eyes of government that I remember why I'm a libertarian, and South Carolina provides a staggering amount of laws such as the one above to support my views. Fortune Tellers are required to obtain a special permit. It is illegal to give or receive oral sex. Up until recently it was illegal to get a tattoo. And now based on the suspicions of a Wal-Mart employee my government-sponsored identification means precisely jack in the eyes of South Carolina legislature.

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