The Cheyenne City Council Finance Committee on Monday voted in favor of renewing existing city liquor licenses.

The issue now goes on to the full city council. Councilman Jim Brown, the non-voting chair of the committee, said he would like to see the city do more to punish minors who try to illegally buy alcohol. According to information presented at the hearing, those who try to illegally buy alcohol could be cited under Wyoming law, but, in practice, that seldom happens.

Officer John Gay of the Cheyenne Police Department told the committee that the majority of illegal underage liquor purchases could be stopped if license holders were willing to purchase equipment that detects phony ID cards. But he noted the equipment is expensive, costing at least $1,000 and sometimes several times that, depending on the model purchased.

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