Written by Ron, Founder of Minor Decliner – First in a Historical Series on Age Verification. A special reflection for July 4th.
Four score and many stings ago, our nation began its earnest endeavor to shield its young citizens from the undue burdens of premature indulgence. From the earliest days of temperance to modern campaigns against underage smoking, the people of this republic have long sought to preserve the virtue and wellbeing of their children by keeping age-restricted substances—liquor, tobacco, cannabis, and the like—out of youthful hands.
Yet the means by which we enforce such noble aims have not always kept pace with the cunning of those who would circumvent them.
In the times of my daughter’s service as an underage investigator for her local department of law, she carried no counterfeit identification. She bore only her true, underage self. And still, nearly one in three merchants, though honorable in intent, failed in arithmetic or attention, and sold her cigarettes or drink.
It was not malice that led to this failing, but human error—an affliction that does not discriminate by era or education.
And so, much like the abolitionist did rise to fight moral decay not with words alone, but with tools, action, and industry, I too resolved to apply the principles of engineering to the question: How can we better guard our youth from access to age-restricted goods?
The answer came plainly: we must remove the guesswork.
The Modern Age Gate: A Digital Sentinal at Every Threshold
The ID scanner, when properly constructed and powered by true verification tools—not merely barcode readers, but technologies such as Intellicheck and Yoti facial age estimation—stands as the modern gatekeeper.
It calculates age. It checks expiration. It verifies authenticity. It works tirelessly and without prejudice. It neither tires, nor forgets, nor misjudges a birth year in haste. And unlike the barkeep or cashier of old, it logs every scan, every pass and fail, to build a record of compliance and conscience.
Let it be said in this digital age: To scan is to shield.
A Call to Merchants and Keepers of the Public Trust
As the founder of Minor Decliner, I write not just to praise technology, but to remind us of the reason for its creation. We did not invent the ID scanner to inconvenience honest folk or to add friction to commerce. We built it so that the mistakes of the past might not be repeated.
Today, we offer tools that are fast, fair, and proven. They are used not only to stop fakes, but to stop forgetfulness. They reduce risk, protect licenses, and above all—they protect children.
This post shall be the first in a series chronicling the history and future of age verification in this republic. In future dispatches, I shall recount how fake ID detection has evolved, how enforcement has changed, and how even the Constitution allows states to enact safeguards for the public good.
Let us not leave to chance what can be enforced with certainty.
Join us in building a future where the sale of age-restricted products is governed not by memory, but by measure. Where merchants are not punished for missteps they could not prevent, and where our children are protected not just in law, but in practice.
The arc of public safety is long, but it bends toward accountability.
Yours in service,
Ron
Founder, Minor Decliner
