Soldier denied hotel room because he’s not yet 21

By

The Associated Press

Governor of Florida, Rick Scott and The Adjutant of Florida, Army. Maj. Gen. Michael Calhoun present the State of Florida flag to the 202nd RED HORSE Squadron during the Florida Air National Guard’s 202nd RED HORSE Squadron deployment, March 5, 2016. The 202nd RED HORSE Squadron is preparing to deploy to Southwest Asia in the near future.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A soldier was denied the chance to rent a hotel room in southwest Florida because he is under age 21, even though a state law waives a minimum age requirement for people with military ID cards.

The Fort Myers New-Press reported Tuesday that 20-year-old Army Pvt. Mason Ritums was notified that the Crestwood Suites in Fort Myers, Florida, doesn’t rent rooms to anyone under 21.

It turns out a state law was passed in 2015 specifically eliminating age requirements for anyone with identification showing they are on active duty.

The vice president of the company that owns the hotel says he didn’t know about the law. But Collier Dailey tells the newspaper that he would have waived the age policy anyway if he knew Ritums was in the Army.