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Leap Year birthday & liquor sales

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Mr. Brown

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Feb 23, 2005, 8:39:22 AM2/23/05
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Hey everybody,
I've got a pretty strange question. I'm a student in Louisiana, and my
birthday is on February 29th ("Leap Day"). This year, I'm turning 21,
and there is obviously not a February 29th. I want to go out and drink
on my 21st birthday - but what does the state legally consider to be my
birthday is this case?

For example, I consider my birthday to be the last day in February
every year, as on leap years, my birthday is the very last day, and my
birthday is not in March. However, the argument could be made that my
birthday has not passed yet on February 28th, so I would have to wait
till March 1st to legally purchase alcohol.

Do any states actually have statutes defining this, or do people just
not really care?

~Tony

Mark A

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Feb 24, 2005, 12:14:17 PM2/24/05
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"Mr. Brown" <mrbro...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:on1p115jp9sk5tnel...@4ax.com...
What the state of LA thinks, or what other states outside of LA think is
mostly irrelevant. I would contact the establishment of the place you will
drinking at that night and ask them what they will do. Ask the owner or
manager and make sure they will be there that night. You don't want to get
into an argument about this with waitpersons on your birthday. Arguing with
them about legal matters on that particular night could ruin your
celebration.

If it were me, I would say that March 1, 2005 will be your 21st birthday.


Timothy

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Feb 24, 2005, 12:14:02 PM2/24/05
to

Mr. Brown wrote:
> Hey everybody,
> I've got a pretty strange question. I'm a student in Louisiana, and
my
> birthday is on February 29th ("Leap Day"). This year, I'm turning 21,
> and there is obviously not a February 29th. I want to go out and
drink
> on my 21st birthday - but what does the state legally consider to be
my
> birthday is this case?
>
>

I believe the usual rule of thumb is "must be born on or before today's
date minus 21 years." So to buy a drink this coming Monday, you would
have to be born on or before February 28, 1984---- and you were born on
Fenruary 29, 1984. But you might want to see what the exact rule in
your state is. This may be a case where your usual birthday-celebration
day (Feb. 28 in common years) differs from the day you become "legal"
for bar purposes.

Elizabeth

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Feb 24, 2005, 12:14:44 PM2/24/05
to

"Mr. Brown" <mrbro...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:on1p115jp9sk5tnel...@4ax.com...

the question is not when your birthday is but whether or not you are 21
years of age, which you will not be on February 28th. I should think you
could order a drink after midnight.


Gordon Burditt

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Feb 24, 2005, 12:14:42 PM2/24/05
to

With the care usually given by legislators in writing laws (they
couldn't come up with an anti-sodomy law that doesn't create a
chicken-egg shortage (if the law were literally enforced) to save
their lives), your 21st birthday occurs well after you are 80 years
old.

I think you have to wait till March 1st to legally purchase alcohol.

Gordon L. Burditt

Robert Bonomi

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Feb 24, 2005, 12:15:14 PM2/24/05
to
In article <on1p115jp9sk5tnel...@4ax.com>,

Mr. Brown <mrbro...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Hey everybody,
>I've got a pretty strange question. I'm a student in Louisiana, and my
>birthday is on February 29th ("Leap Day"). This year, I'm turning 21,
>and there is obviously not a February 29th. I want to go out and drink
>on my 21st birthday - but what does the state legally consider to be my
>birthday is this case?

Answer: Legally, you *don't*have* a "birthday" this year. This particular
peculiar situation has been recognized for hundreds of year. See Gilbert &
Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" for a record of one "historical" incident.


>
>For example, I consider my birthday to be the last day in February
>every year, as on leap years, my birthday is the very last day, and my
>birthday is not in March. However, the argument could be made that my
>birthday has not passed yet on February 28th, so I would have to wait
>till March 1st to legally purchase alcohol.

Legally, 'birthday' doesn't matter. "Age" does. Feb 28, 2005 is *NOT*
a full year after Feb 29, 2004, hence you are _not_ a year older on
the 28th. However, come March 1, it's a "year and a day" later. <grin>

>Do any states actually have statutes defining this, or do people just
>not really care?

It's not expressly defined in statute anywhere that I know of. It's *not*
needed. If your 'birthday' is the 29th of the month. then *obviously*
you haven't reached/passed it on the 28th.


It's legal for you to drink "on or after" your 21st birthday. since that
day doesn't actually exist in the given year, you have to settle for 'after'.

Daniel R. Reitman

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Feb 24, 2005, 12:15:04 PM2/24/05
to
On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 08:39:22 -0500, "Mr. Brown"
<mrbro...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Hey everybody,
>I've got a pretty strange question. I'm a student in Louisiana, and my
>birthday is on February 29th ("Leap Day"). This year, I'm turning 21,
>and there is obviously not a February 29th. I want to go out and drink
>on my 21st birthday - but what does the state legally consider to be my
>birthday is this case?

>. . . .

I don't know what the rule in Louisiana is, but at common law (which
particularly may not apply there because of civil law issues), the
rule was that February 29 birthdays were counted from March 1 in
non-leap years.

Daniel Reitman

Dick Adams

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Feb 24, 2005, 12:15:02 PM2/24/05
to

Since the next leap year is 2008, you will have time to look into
this yourself. I checked all states and was not able to find any
statutes that address the problem. I suspect that March 1st of 2008
is the answer. My basis is the calendar signs that on February 28th
that will read "If you were born after this date in 1987, we are not
allowed to sell you alcohol beverages."

I suggest you write a letter to the Louisiana Attorney General and
ask for clarification. The letter you get in response will contain
the correct answer.

Dick

sufaud

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Feb 27, 2005, 10:01:10 PM2/27/05
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On 24/2/05 5:15 pm, in article k02s1152aa6f11dtn...@4ax.com,
"Robert Bonomi" <bon...@host122.r-bonomi.com> wrote:

> It's not expressly defined in statute anywhere that I know of. It's *not*
> needed. If your 'birthday' is the 29th of the month. then *obviously*
> you haven't reached/passed it on the 28th.
>
>
> It's legal for you to drink "on or after" your 21st birthday. since that
> day doesn't actually exist in the given year, you have to settle for 'after'.


When I was in law school we were taught that, legally, you reach majority on
the DAY BEFORE your (then) 21st or (now) 18th birthday. That makes sense, or
at least it made sense to us as law students.

On the other hand, I well know that trying to convince some liquor store
clerk of this arcane point of law is a waste of time. When I reached 21 and
offered a US passport as proof of age to a liquor store clerk, it was
dismissively rejected. In those days, though, passports were the only
picture ID you could have; driving licenses were just pieces of paper with
data typed on them, and a rubber stamp.

Thanks to Google, I have found proof of my earth-shattering statement, on
the Web site of the Social Security Administration:
http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/oasi/09/SSR63-15-oasi-09.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/5v942

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