In the US do you have to be 21 to enter a bar?

[aba1]

I was watching Community today, it was the episode where Troy turns 21 and they mention Anne cannot enter a bad because she is 20. So I was just curious if this is accurate that anyone not drinking age cannot enter a bar?

I live in Ontario so we can go into bars without being old enough to drink as long as we are not drinking and the drinking age is 19.

 

[Batou667]

Can I be the first to do the obligatory "LOL USA lets children shoot guns but you're not allowed to drink coffee until you're 25 and have a doctor's certificate LOLOL" post?

Thanks, much obliged.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Ha, what a ridiculous law, I mean-

Can I be the first to do the obligatory "LOL USA lets children shoot guns but you're not allowed to drink coffee until you're 25 and have a doctor's certificate LOLOL" post?

Thanks, much obliged.

Awwww...

Spoil sport.

OT: Can drive a couple of tonnes of metal around at high speeds at 16 but can't legally have sex or drink alcohol until 18 and 21 respectively (state laws vary, of course).

Great logic

 

[Jedoro]

Any place I've been to, they just ID you when you're ordering drinks or throw some X's in sharpie on the back of your hands when you go in, to show you're not allowed to buy drinks.

 

[Rednog]

From my experience it really depends, if its a full on bar/club some will card at the door and issue you a colored band so the bartender won't have to check ID's every time. They'll let you in if you're over 18 but you can't drink.
It varies, like the one in community, they really wouldn't check at the door, usually you could meander in and unless you look like you're 13 they probably wouldn't bother you, they would only check when you go to buy a drink.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

From my experience it really depends, if its a full on bar/club some will card at the door and issue you a colored band so the bartender won't have to check ID's every time. They'll let you in if you're over 18 but you can't drink.
It varies, like the one in community, they really wouldn't check at the door, usually you could meander in and unless you look like you're 13 they probably wouldn't bother you, they would only check when you go to buy a drink.

Yeah. In fact, it's mainly clubs that card at the door. These are places where the main goal is dancing, and carding people every time they drink gets in the way of it. More relaxed bars are more likely to let underaged individuals in as long as they don't drink. Also, live music based clubs occasionally card people and give the ones who are underage a stamp on the wrist or a different colored arm band from everyone else, so they can get in to hear the band play (or, in some cases, to play in the band) but they can't order anything alcoholic.

 

[renegade7]

You can go into a bar at any age, but you can't order drinks unless you are 21. In fact many of the best restaurants where I live are also bars.

 

[DANEgerous]

Depends on state regulations, in quite a few states you can legally drink at 18 under a verity of circumstances, under a far grater verity an in a far larger amout of place you can enter a bar but the general public will not believe you even if you look up the laws and shove it in the face even if they are cops that should know better and wrongfully arrest you and thus lose their job.

Due to public ignorance many people demand they know that the age by law to be at a bar is 21, they are almost always wrong though it can be a privately enforced rule again due to the ignorance of believing it is law it tends not to be law.

And yes this is a story I know from experience

 

[Verzin]

Answer: Yes.
US has some reeaaaaly weird stuff regarding alcohol.
Here's a random fact: Drinking age used to vary from state to state. Then federal government said in order to qualify for their federal funding (Which all the states NEED desperately now) they have to conform to their rules for stuff. Including drinking age, which was set at 21.

 

[DoPo]

Drinking age of 5 in the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age#Europe

Fuck yeah.

Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Sweden (didn't completely catch Norway - alcohol in possession of minors can be confiscated as evidence and all that) point at that and say "So what, you can go to kindergarten but you still can't drink alcohol? Fuck yeah!"

 

[DoPo]

Drinking age of 5 in the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age#Europe

Fuck yeah.

Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Sweden (didn't completely catch Norway - alcohol in possession of minors can be confiscated as evidence and all that) point at that and say "So what, you can go to kindergarten but you still can't drink alcohol? Fuck yeah!"

The point is we are laughing at the United States, a long time UK tradition, you should know that.

Oh, I know it, I think the rest of Europe also does it. They just like laughing in general.