WJLA is reporting that unless Gov. Mark Warner amends or vetoes a recently passed bill, underage drinking will be legal at private parties in Virginia. The original bill was intended to prevent those under 21 from consuming alcohol, but a loophole was added via an amendment in the Virginia Senate. Underage drinking is still illegal in Virginia, but a technicality allows hosts to claim that those underage are guests at a private residence and allowed to drink. Bars and restaurants open to the public are not affected by the law.

Older residents may remember that despite the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, a grandfather clause allowed many 19 year olds in Virginia to purchase beer until 1987. In D.C. and Maryland, underage drinking has been decriminalized, making it a civil rather than a criminal offense. Not good enough, you say? Take a road trip to Toronto, where the legal drinking age is 19. But avoid using a fake I.D. in the District; apparently D.C. ID policy is one of the toughest in the nation.