What a wonderful article by Amy Rosen in the Dec. 31 issue of the Atlanticville, regarding the new law tossing a lifeline to underage drinkers by offering immunity if they call for help and remain at the scene for a young person who has been drinking and risks the threat of coma and death without immediate medical attention. Indeed, this new law will help save the lives of our children.

Toward the end of the article, Rosen quotes the October issue of Perspectives, a news journal that focuses on addiction research, and its findings about the influence of parent enablers, meaning parents who send a message to kids that it is OK to drink and do drugs; and how children of parents who indulge in such unhealthy, risky, poor behavior grow up with almost three times more chances of becoming alcohol and drug abusers themselves.

Yes, most people would agree that parents undoubtedly influence their young adult children and younger children. However, the article does not go where no one has gone before — it does not inquire or mention how and where our young children get their hands on the alcohol that kills 5,000 kids per year (see Mollicone’s provided list “What You Can Lose Because of Booze” in Dec. 31 issue of Atlanticville, page 4). The real parents who should have their heads handed to them are the ones who go buy the liquor for your kids, the kids up the road, on the same block in front of all the neighbors, the silent neighbors, the blind neighbors.

There should be immunity and anonymity for reporting on the laughing criminals of our neighbors. They are right here among us, coaches for T-ball, chatting with you and your young sons and daughters, laughing on the corner with them, etc. How come no one intervenes while some overgrown infant passes your kids a bottle of the cheapest, deadliest vodka on the market right in the middle of the road in front of everyone, repeatedly? There should be immunity for the frightened wife and mother in the house as she reports her criminal husband out in the road. The one doing the reporting to police is not the one who causes the criminal behavior; she just wants to stop the needless death of neighborhood kids.

How does a concerned citizen report a useless, ignorant criminal causing death right here in front of our eyes, in our streets? The criminal knows what he is doing, he just doesn’t care — he’s too stupid to care and he is too high on drugs himself, like his mother and useless father has been all the days and nights of his life. Is there any way to stop the distribution of alcohol to our kids by putting the provider behind bars where he belongs? He does this without consent of his wife and family. His hubris mixed with ignorance is killing our kids.

Mary Montgomery

Long Branch