Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, a Democrat running for governor, said he stopped by a Delaware beach party this summer to speak to his son but wasn’t responsible for stopping any underage drinking that may have taken place.
According to a story in the Baltimore Sun published Wednesday, Gansler is pictured surrounded by a crowd of dancing, shirtless teenagers in a photo circulated on social media taken at the June 13 party in South Bethany, Del.
The attorney general told the Sun that he stopped by the party for a few minutes to speak with his recently graduated son, who was attending his school’s “beach week.” He said that his son was not drinking and that it was not his responsibility, either as a parent or a law-enforcement official, to intervene in the party.
“Assume for purposes of discussion that there was widespread drinking at this party,” Gansler told the newspaper. “How is that relevant to me? … The question is, do I have any moral authority over other people’s children at beach week in another state? I say no.”
As attorney general, Gansler publicly spoke against underage drinking in a PSA filmed for a nonprofit that advocates against teen drinking and drunk driving, according to the Sun.
Doug Gansler says breaking up party with underage drinking was not his job. http://t.co/3l8KEDmiwF pic.twitter.com/DhPAgZO2MI
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) October 24, 2013
