A letter from Kaitlyn's mom

Shari and Kaitlyn Mounce

    My name is Shari Mounce.  Our family has been devastated by the death of our only daughter at age 15.  She spent the night with a friend and never made it home the next day.  Unbeknownst to me, Kaitlyn and two 15 year old girls decided to go with a 16 year old boy to one of his friend’s house, whose parents were hosting a party for their 15 year old son.   The parents served the kids alcohol.  My daughter did not drink that night.  However, many kids at the PARENT HOSTED party did, including the 16 year old boy who was to drive the girl’s home.

    My daughter never made it home that night.  However, we made it to the accident scene and sat with her bloody body for 2 hours.  The truck the 16 year old boy was driving flipped 5 times and then hit a pole.  My daughter, hopefully, died instantly, although we will never know.  She may have laid there and suffered before the ambulance arrived.  Not only is my family’s life destroyed, but those of two 15 year old girls and one 16 year old boy, who were in the truck.

    The parents—the Social Hosts—were convicted of 2^nd degree manslaughter and received a sentence of 9 years with 2 years deferred in 2009.  Having served only one year, they have been moved to a halfway house. The 16 year old boy was charged as a youthful offender and received a 5 year deferred sentence in 2009.  He has a parole officer and if he does not make a mistake within the 5 year period his sentence will be dropped.  

    The DA in Grady County did not use Oklahoma’s existing Social Host law that was passed in 2006 to prosecute my daughter’s killers because there were greater penalties with manslaughter. We strongly believe that the penalties in HB 1211 should be even tougher than proposed. Five years in prison for an offender whose irresponsible actions of Social Hosting result in the death of a minor is ridiculous. The penalty does not fit the crime.  However, the language in HB 1211 addresses Social Hosting proactively by adding misdemeanor penalties and low-point beer to the state statute. This addition to the existing statute will save kids lives by providing law enforcement statewide the ability to charge Social Hosts with an offense before a child dies or has to suffer great bodily injury.

    We not only support HB 1211 to strengthen Oklahoma’s Social Host Law, but we believe had this bill been passed in 2008 when the language was originally proposed, my daughter would still be alive.  WE ARE BEGGING YOU ... PLEASE PASS HB 1211 TO STRENGTHEN OK’S SOCIAL HOST LAW SO KIDS LIVES WILL BE SAVED!

Kaitlyn's Headstone

HB 1211-Cody's Law is headed to the Senate floor

Dear Cody's Law Friends & Supporters,

  The next hurdle for HB 1211-Cody's Law is passing on the Senate floor. Please take a minute to send an email to our state Senators asking them to strengthen Oklahoma's Social Host law by voting in favor of HB 1211-Cody's Law. Ask them to support HB 1211 because it will protect Oklahoma teenagers and their families from the dangers of social hosting including underage drinking, drug use and addiction, but most importantly it will save lives!

  I'm including the  Senate email addresses for you to copy & paste into the 'To:' field of your email. Be sure to choose the correct format for your email program, either semi-colon separated or comma separated. Feel free to use your own words, but please remember to be respectful and polite. We can't get this bill passed without the Senator's support.

  It is also helpful to sign your email with your name and address, so the Senators know they are corresponding with an Oklahoma resident and voter, or future voter. Thanks for your support and may God bless you.
 
Senate email - semi-colon separated
adelson@oksenate.gov; aldridge@oksenate.gov; allen@oksenate.gov; anderson@oksenate.gov; ballenger@oksenate.gov; barrington@oksenate.gov; bass@oksenate.gov; bingman@oksenate.gov; branan@oksenate.gov; brecheen@oksenate.gov; brinkley@oksenate.gov; brownb@oksenate.gov; burrage@oksenate.gov; coates@oksenate.gov; crain@oksenate.gov; david@oksenate.gov; easonmcintyre@oksenate.gov; ellis@oksenate.gov; efields@oksenate.gov; fordj@oksenate.gov; garrisone@oksenate.gov; halligan@oksenate.gov; holt@oksenate.gov; ivester@oksenate.gov; johnsonc@oksenate.gov; johnsonr@oksenate.gov; jolley@oksenate.gov; justice@oksenate.gov; laster@oksenate.gov; lerblance@oksenate.gov; marlatt@oksenate.gov; mazzei@oksenate.gov; ingraham@oksenate.gov; newberry@oksenate.gov; nichols@oksenate.gov; paddack@oksenate.gov; reynolds@oksenate.gov; rice@oksenate.gov; russell@oksenate.gov; schulz@oksenate.gov; shortey@oksenate.gov; simpson@oksenate.gov; sparks@oksenate.gov; stanislawski@oksenate.gov; lewis@oksenate.gov; treatg@oksenate.gov; wilson@oksenate.gov; wyrick@oksenate.gov

Senate email - comma separated
adelson@oksenate.gov, aldridge@oksenate.gov, allen@oksenate.gov, anderson@oksenate.gov, ballenger@oksenate.gov, barrington@oksenate.gov,  bass@oksenate.gov, bingman@oksenate.gov, branan@oksenate.gov, brecheen@oksenate.gov, brinkley@oksenate.gov, brownb@oksenate.gov, burrage@oksenate.gov, coates@oksenate.gov, crain@oksenate.gov, david@oksenate.gov, easonmcintyre@oksenate.gov, ellis@oksenate.gov, efields@oksenate.gov, fordj@oksenate.gov, garrisone@oksenate.gov, halligan@oksenate.gov, holt@oksenate.gov, ivester@oksenate.gov, johnsonc@oksenate.gov, johnsonr@oksenate.gov, jolley@oksenate.gov, justice@oksenate.gov, laster@oksenate.gov, lerblance@oksenate.gov, marlatt@oksenate.gov, mazzei@oksenate.gov, ingraham@oksenate.gov, newberry@oksenate.gov, nichols@oksenate.gov, paddack@oksenate.gov, reynolds@oksenate.gov, rice@oksenate.gov, russell@oksenate.gov, schulz@oksenate.gov, shortey@oksenate.gov, simpson@oksenate.gov, sparks@oksenate.gov, stanislawski@oksenate.gov, lewis@oksenate.gov, treatg@oksenate.gov, wilson@oksenate.gov, wyrick@oksenate.gov

Contact Senators - Ask them to support HB 1211

Okay folks, this is what has happened, to date, in the legislature with the Social Host bills. 

We started out with two great bills, each a little different, but either one of them would strengthen the state's Social Host law.

SB 859, authored by Senator Jim Halligan, was double assigned to the Senate Public Safety committee and the Senate Appropriations committee.  It passed the Senate Public Safety committee unanimously February 17, and was referred on to Appropriations.  However, it was not given a hearing in Appropriations and died in committee.

HB 1211, authored by Representative Dan Kirby, was assigned to the House Judiciary committee where it passed unanimously February 28. It then went to the House floor where is again passed unanimously 98 - 0 March 7, and was sent to the Senate. Speaker of the House Kris Steele and Representatives Leslie Osborn, David Brumbaugh, George Faught, Corey Holland, Sally Kern, Jadine Nollan, Charles Ortega, Todd Russ, Todd Thomsen, and Sue Tibbs have signed on as coauthors in the House.  Senator Dan Newbery is the principal Senate author.

HB 1211 has also been double assigned to the Senate Public Safety committee and the Senate Appropriations committee.  It must receive a hearing and "Do Pass" vote in both committees in order to move on to the Senate floor for a vote. 

This is where I really need your help. I am listing the email addresses of the Senate Public Safety committee and the Senate Appropriations committee so you may copy and paste them directly from this page into your email. Please send them an email and ask them to give HB 1211 a hearing and a “Do Pass” vote in the Public Safety committee and then the Appropriations committee. You should copy your Senator as well, and ask them to support this measure and ensure its passage in the Senate.  If you don't know who the Senator is for your district, there is an easy to use link on the left side of this page that says: Find Your Legislator. Click there and follow the instructions.

HB 1211 Senate Author and Senate Public Safety Committee Members: 

Senator Dan Newberry - Author, Senator Don Barrington - Chair, Senator Ralph Shortey - Vice Chair, Senator Roger Ballenger, Senator Earl Garrison, Senator Constance Johnson, Senator Ron Justice,

Senator Jim Reynolds, Senator Steve Russell, Senator Anthony Sykes

Emails:
newberry@oksenate.gov; barrington@oksenate.gov; shortey@oksenate.gov; ballenger@oksenate.gov; garrisone@oksenate.gov; johnsonc@oksenate.gov; justice@oksenate.gov; reynolds@oksenate.gov; russell@oksenate.gov; lewis@oksenate.gov

Senate Appropriations Committee Members:

Senator David Myers – Chair, Senator Clark Jolley - Vice Chair, Senator Roger Ballenger, Senator Cliff Branan, Senator Rick Brinkley, Senator Sean Burrage, Senator Brian Crain, Senator John Ford, Senator Jim Halligan, Senator Tom Ivester, Senator Ron Justice, Senator Bryce Marlatt, Senator Dan Newberry, Senator Jonathan Nichols, Senator Susan Paddack, Senator Andrew Rice, Senator Gary Stanislawski, Senator Anthony Sykes, Senator Jim Wilson, Senator Charles Wyrick

Emails:
ingraham@oksenate.gov; jolley@oksenate.gov; ballenger@oksenate.gov; branan@oksenate.gov; brinkley@oksenate.gov; burrage@oksenate.gov; crain@oksenate.gov; fordj@oksenate.gov; halligan@oksenate.gov; ivester@oksenate.gov; marlatt@oksenate.gov; nichols@oksenate.gov; paddack@oksenate.gov; rice@oksenate.gov; stanislawski@oksenate.gov; wilson@oksenate.gov; wyrick@oksenate.gov
(Additional contact information for both the Senate and House members is on the left side of this page.) 

Finally, don't forget to share this page and the Cody's Law Facebook page with family and friends who are concerned about this issue and ask them to contact the Senators also.

God bless you and thanks for your support!

Why didn't I know?

Why didn’t I know?

It’s a question I’ve heard a thousand times in my head...maybe more.

When your child dies of an alcohol and drug overdose it’s a question that won’t go away.

Let me ask, have you ever allowed your son or daughter to go to someone’s house to play video games after school? The parents are going to be home. It’s during the day and they will only be there a couple of hours, so it seems safe...right? 

What about going to a friend’s house for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon to hang out? The friend’s mom or dad is working around the house while they play in the yard, watch movies, play games, eat all the food in the fridge. The same things they do at your house...right?

Do you allow them to go to an adult supervised party? There will be pizza, soft drinks, and other junk food. It will be fine...right?

If you’re a parent, at some point, you will be faced with the decision of whether or not to allow your child to spend time at another child’s home. When your kids are in elementary school their circle of friends is small and it’s fairly easy to get to know a handful of families, but when they reach middle and high school things change rapidly. They have friends from school, sport leagues, church groups, camp, internet and friends of friends. When they begin driving it gives them freedom to go places and come in contact with people of whom you know little or nothing. At this point, you realize the relationships with your child’s friend’s families on the perimeter are shallow at best and non existent in some cases. What do you do?

You can’t lock your teens up and keep them from ever going outside of your home, so you check things out. You talk to your teenager. You talk to other parents you trust in the community. The problem is our teens don’t always tell us what we need to know to keep them safe. And other parents may only know the same thing you do; what they’ve seen in public. Truth is we don’t know what is allowed behind closed doors and it can be dangerous or even deadly for our kids.

It was deadly to my son, and I can tell you exactly why I didn’t know.  He and his friends had a place they could go to party. This house, this family seemed just like any other from the outside, but behind the closed doors of their home they allowed my son and other people’s children to make decisions they were not old enough to make. These kids were hidden from the watchful eyes of responsible, caring adults. It was a place where the adults who should have been supervising them allowed young teenagers to drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, and more, and then allowed them to stay overnight further concealing their activities from their parents. By the time my son would get home the next morning he was fine, with no sign of drinking or drugs. That is, until it killed him.

Don’t let this happen to your family. Don’t be the one asking, “Why didn’t I know?”

Please join me in asking our state Senators to give HB 1211 a hearing and “Do Pass” vote when it comes before the Public Safety and Appropriations committees. HB 1211 will strengthen our state’s Social Host law by closing the gaps that currently exist and will provide law enforcement the tool they need to hold adults accountable statewide.

Passing HB 1211 will save lives...maybe the life of someone you love.

What if I don't know?

What if my teen has a party when I’m not home?

This seems to be the concern of many parents in regard to strengthening our state’s social host law.  I hear comments like: I think it’s a good idea, but I don’t want to pay a fine or go to jail if my child does this behind my back when I’m not at home or sleeping.

Here are some things to consider:

The current Oklahoma law says, “No person shall knowingly and willfully permit any individual under twenty-one (21) years of age...*”; therefore, the law enforcement investigating such a situation must be able to prove that you knew the minors were drinking and/or using other controlled dangerous substances.

You can, and should, take steps to protect yourself and ensure that underage guests staying in your home don’t have access to your alcohol. Foolishness is born in the heart of a child, so lock your liquor up, and for that matter, your prescription drugs too. If you keep beer/wine in the fridge make sure your teens and their underage house guests know they are not allowed to help themselves, and if they do that there will be consequences. Speak to their parents, and if this doesn’t end the behavior I, personally, would not allow them to be a guest in my home again.

You should be aware that some Oklahoma municipalities have enacted social host ordinances that charge whoever is in control of the residence, which could include your teenager, if they are hosting a party when you are out of town or not at home. While this is not the case with the state law, you still need to make your kids aware that you, and they, could be held accountable if someone is gravely injured or killed and their family decides to take civil action.

Strengthening the state law gives you an excuse --if you need one-- to tell your teens “No.” You can then explain to them that it is against the law and you are not willing, and they should not expect you to risk getting caught and having to pay a fine or spend time in jail in order to allow them to drink with their friends in your home.

If you are hosting an adult party in your home, and there are minors present, it is your responsibility to ensure they are not served nor have access to alcohol by taking reasonable steps to prevent its consumption. Reasonable steps would include checking the IDs of young guests you are not sure to be of legal drinking age, and not leaving alcohol unattended or accessible to underage guests. If you should discover an underage guest has consumed alcohol you should take any unconsumed alcohol away from them, and notify their parents or legal guardian. Then make sure they do not get in a vehicle to drive because if they have an accident you could be held accountable for providing alcohol to a minor.

Probably the most important thing to think about is how you and your teenager would deal with knowing that their decision to allow underage friends to drink alcohol or consume other substances in your home caused a devastating injury or death. It’s not an easy thing to live with the rest of your life.   

*To read the full text of the current statute see the tab on the left side of the page. 

Is it really safer?

  Many people question whether it is safer to allow teens to drink under adult supervision.  For those who do this in their own home with their own teenage child --personally I don’t agree with it-- but as long as you don’t let them out drunk, it is your business. It becomes other citizen’s concern, when you allow kids that are not your own to consume alcohol behind the closed doors of your home or on your property.

  I’ve heard well-meaning people say things like: You can’t stop them from drinking, so I will take responsibility and collect everyone’s keys when they get here. I will park my recliner by the front door and stay up all night with a good book.

  Aside from the fact that you’re breaking the law if you provide alcohol and you’re giving teens the impression that it is safe and acceptable to use alcohol at their age, it sounds reasonable...or does it?

  Before you set out to become the coolest parent in your hometown, you should know that teens in social gatherings tend to binge drink and get drunk so you might want to consider a few of the negative variables that could take place before you surrender to this flawed line of thinking.

• What if you doze off momentarily and someone slips past your watchful eyes?
• What if they slip out through an alternate door or window?
• What if they overpower you and take their keys and get on the road and kill themselves or someone else?
• What if they’ve taken medication prescribed for them or over the counter pain relievers before they arrived that don’t mix with alcohol?
• What if someone starts a fight and seriously injures or kills someone?
• What if they sexually assault someone while you’re parked by the front door and unable to hear due to the loud music?
• What if they get drunk and pop some pills someone brought with them or they find in your medicine cabinet?
• What if a couple of guests send a text to their friends, who send a text to their friends and suddenly your party of 20 becomes 200?
• What if they don’t know when to stop and overdose in your home?

  Are you prepared to deal with the answers to these questions?

 

  My son died in a house where adults were present. 

  Is it really safer? 

Who decides?

  Imagine your teen goes to a gathering at a friend’s house to play video games ... watch TV ... stay the night ... attend a birthday party or just hang out.  Now imagine you find out that the adults present in this home allowed your teen to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. They didn’t necessarily provide the alcohol and/or drugs; they just turned their heads and did nothing to stop it.

They didn’t call you.

They didn’t pour it out or take it away. 

They didn’t tell your teen or any of the teens present at their home that it is not alright for them to party in their home because they are underage.  

  Are you comfortable with another adult making the decision for you that it is okay for your teen to party?

  What if the adults present in this home knowingly allow your teen to get wasted when they stay the night and you never know about it? What if your teen repeatedly goes to this house to party without your knowledge and develops an addiction? What if your teen gets drunk or high at this house, then gets in their vehicle to drive home and has a wreck and kills another person, a family or themselves?   What if your teen goes to this home to party and overdoses and dies?

   Does another adult have the right to make the decision that it is safer for your child to party at their house, under adult supervision, than you?

  Tell your legislators that social hosting in not acceptable in our state.  Ask them to support the legislation that is currently before them, HB 1211 - Cody's Law, which will eliminate the loopholes and strengthen our state’s current social host law.

 

  Tell them it is YOUR decision!

  Follow Cody's Law at www.facebook.com/cody.greenhaw and like this page if you agree that social hosting needs to stop in Oklahoma. Share this link with other concerned parents and community members.