Courtesy D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.

Courtesy D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.

Good morning! Here’s a story from the Concord Monitor that serves as a sobering (literally) reminder that D.C. is not a state: A D.C. resident originally from New Hampshire was visiting his folks with a few friends over 4th of July weekend when a liquor store wouldn’t accept his license because it wasn’t from one of the 50 states or a province in Canada.

The Monitor reports that, according to New Hampshire state law, “businesses that sell alcohol can accept four types of legal proof of age: a passport, a military card, or a driver’s license or photo identification from any of the 50 states, as well as provinces of Canada.”

“Any of the 50 states.” 50 states being the key word there, as D.C., you well know, is not one of the 50 states, yet is more than a city for its 600,000-plus residents.

Travis Mitchell, a New Hampshire native and journalist for U.S. News and World Report whose D.C. license was rejected by the liquor store clerk, says that he was “dumbfounded” about the law. “I don’t fault the guy for enforcing the law,” he told the Monitor. “It just seemed bizarre at the time—and it still does.”

Joshua Bourassa, the customer service manager at the co-op that wouldn’t sell to Mitchell, says that the law is “just one of those quirks.” He told the Monitor that they “[get] three to four people each year who we can’t sell to because they don’t have proper identification.”

And it seems to be one of those weird laws that just has vague language, but isn’t widely enforced. James Wilson, the director of enforcement and licensing for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, told the Monitor that “many times when we do training, we tell (businesses) this is the letter of the law,” but says that “[they] don’t tell them necessarily that a D.C. license is invalid.” Furthermore, Republican State Senator Andy Sanborn, who owns a bar in New Hampshire, says he wasn’t aware of the law and says that he assumes “there was nothing malevolent about it,” adding that he’d accept a valid D.C. license at his bar.

New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan (D) says she’s looking into the statute that prevents the state from accepting D.C. IDs as valid identification for purchasing booze.

Last February, a TSA agent at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport wasn’t sure if she could accept a passenger’s D.C. license because it’s “not a state.” That prompted Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton to contact the TSA to remind them that, despite not being a state, D.C. licenses are still valid forms of identification.

In the meantime, if you’re planning to be in New Hampshire anytime soon, D.C. residents, best to bring your passport, in case you plan on buying booze.

Filed Under: d.c. driver's license, new hampshire, statehood,