One lady was allowed to testify that one night during the past year, she had dropped her son off at O'Charley's after 10 PM when she was on her way to work. Her son met a friend there, the friend had too much to drink, her son asked the friend for a ride home, and got into the car with him. As far as I know, her son did not put on a seat belt, and was killed within a mile of O'Charley's when the car wrecked, and he was thrown out. In testimony before the beer board, the mother stated, "O'Charley's killed my son."

Now, as much as I feel for anyone who loses their child, this lady's child was an adult. If I drop my adult child off at O'Charley's after 10pm at night, my expectation is they are not going in there for a steak dinner. This lady's adult child, went in, sat with his friend who he saw drink too much, made the decision to get in the car with him, and furthermore, chose not to put on his seat belt. O'Charley's did not kill this lady's child - A drunk driver killed this lady's child. A server in a crowded bar cannot be expected to measure each patrons sobriety level. That is an unreasonable expectation. It's the same with people who sue gun manufacturers - the gun doesn't kill someone - another person kills someone. If a person is murdered by someone who strangles them with a rope, do you ever see a lawsuit against the rope manufacturer?

It's time for people in our society to quit blaming all of their problems on someone else, and take personal responsibility for the decisions they make.
To my readers: Be sure and read next months column, "Identity Theft, Law Enforcement Style" - It could easily happen to you!
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