A lower legal drinking age?

Haven't we been down this path before about 40 years ago? The drinking age was lowered to 18. That caused a problem with high schools in that many high school students were 18. Lower it to 19, and be done with it. The issue isn't drinking at a young age, it's irresponsibility.

The question is simple to me; do we want to have parents teaching children about liquor, or do we want their fraternity brothers to do the instruction over a keg of Milwaukee's Beast or massive bowl of Everclear punch? Lower the drinking age to 16.

Why I think is amazing is we allow 16-year-olds to work and drive cars (with statistics showing they do the latter poorly), we allow 18-year-old adults to cast their ballot to determine our leaders, but they aren't old enough to consume a alcohol? The voting age thing really bothers me because we tell them they are competent enough to make an informed decision about who leads our country, state, but not an informed decision an what they can and can't drink.

Lower the drinking age and be done with it.

I think if those under 21 didn't have to hide the fact that they are drinking because it is illegal, they would drink more responsibly and it would be in public where those over 21 could intervene if intervention was needed.

I agree with RGG, in that either we trust 18 year olds to make good decisions (whether voting in elections or on what to drink) or we don't. Let's discuss and make it consistent.

I have been a huge fan of lowering or doing away with the drinking age all together. I think parents should teach their kids at an appropriate age the dangers of alcohol and how to consume it responsibly (if they choose to at all).

That said, I also am in favor of much more strict drunk driving laws.

Children under 21 should never drink! I think we should raise the drinking age to 25 since most of the auto acidents in this country are caused by people under 25. The driving age should also be raised to 23 or 25. Stop letting these iresponsible morons drink and drive. These college deans also need to be fired for advocating this irresponsible position!

Mary wrote:

Children under 21 should never drink! I think we should raise the drinking age to 25 since most of the auto acidents in this country are caused by people under 25. The driving age should also be raised to 23 or 25. Stop letting these iresponsible morons drink and drive. These college deans also need to be fired for advocating this irresponsible position!

But I think a huge part of the problem is the mentality that we have in this country... the all or nothing.... NO drinking AT ALL and then as soon as they get to college they go nuts!

Personally, I would love to serve my kids a glass of wine with dinner (when they are old enough to safely drink it) some nights, and explain to them why it's important to drink responsibly, if you are going to, all the while modeling that same behavior myself. They grow up around it, they understand it, they aren't intrigued or excited by it.

Many other Western countries have much lower or no age limit for consuming alcohol, but have extremely strict drunk driving laws. I'm pretty sure in most European countries it's zero tolerance. You get busted for drinking and driving and you're done - no more driving for you. I'd support that.

Responsible drinking starts at a young age. Parents should be the ones deciding when their children start drinking. Keeping alcohol away from teenagers and college kids just makes it that much more appealing to them. The sooner we show children responsible adult behavior, the sooner they will start acting like responsible adults.

Dont get all "Heady" because you got this one right!

It would be terrific if this viewpoint was shared on "all" victimless human actions.
There are States in America where I can give my kid a beer in the Bar if I "choose" to.
Not every state is a "Minnesota styled" Nanny state, controlled by Leftist Democrats.

What are the critics of lowering the drinking age afraid of? Are they afraid that college age kids might start drinking? Oh, wait.

I was told by a forensic scientist at the BCA that the age of 21 is not just some number that was pulled out of a hat; it is the average age that a human body can efficiently metabolize alcohol. I have been unable to find “proof” of this on the Internet, but I’m very confident that he is credible and certainly qualified enough to know of what he speaks.

Some may be able to metabolize it efficiently at 15, others at 30; other may never be able to do it. However, 21 is an average, and that is why the United States uses 21 as the legal drinking age.

I am a vet and I agree that if you can die for your country you should be able to enjoy an adult beverage of your choice at the end of a hard day. I think you should be able to drink (under 21) if you are in the armed forces...or if we ever enact the draft again. A college kid going to school on daddy's dime screaming he is old enough to die for the country so he should be able to drink does not get my vote. He has a no better chance of dying for his country than my old black lab has. If he wants to drink legally, he knows where the recruiting office is….they will be glad to help him out

I think lowering the age is a very slippery slope. I remember when the drinking age was 19 in Minnesota and 18 in Wisconsin. 18 year old teens from MN were driving back from WI hammered every weekend. Do we want to do the same thing to our neighbors to the east? I think Packer fans are obnoxious, but I don't want to see them die.

Consistent wrote:

Dont get all "Heady" because you got this one right!
It would be terrific if this viewpoint was shared on "all" victimless human actions.
There are States in America where I can give my kid a beer in the Bar if I "choose" to.
Not every state is a "Minnesota styled" Nanny state, controlled by Leftist Democrats.

Wouldn't liberals be more inclined to lower the drinking age? Ya know, because we want everyone to have rights blah blah blah.

Or would the Republicans want to lower the drinking age because they're being paid off by the liquor/beer industry.

Someday you'll figure out it's not the party thats in power, because no matter who it is, nothing ever changes.

Besides that, lower the drinking age. Kids are going to do it anyway, might as well be able to do it legally. But seriously, not too many parents are going to have a talk about "responsible" drinking with kids. IF they don't do it before college, why would they do it at 16?

People drink either to get drunk or change their feelings someway or another. Chemical alteration. Let's legalize it all then, and tax it. then maybe my property taxes would go down.

Dick In Dixie wrote:

Responsible drinking starts at a young age. Parents should be the ones deciding when their children start drinking. Keeping alcohol away from teenagers and college kids just makes it that much more appealing to them. The sooner we show children responsible adult behavior, the sooner they will start acting like responsible adults.

So, why don't people show their 21 year olds how to drink respobsibly? If they can't handle it at 21 in college, why would they handle it at 16 in high school?

But, it does give them 5 more years to build a tolerance.

Really BHL wrote:

<quoted text>
Wouldn't liberals be more inclined to lower the drinking age? Ya know, because we want everyone to have rights blah blah blah.
Or would the Republicans want to lower the drinking age because they're being paid off by the liquor/beer industry.
Someday you'll figure out it's not the party thats in power, because no matter who it is, nothing ever changes.
Besides that, lower the drinking age. Kids are going to do it anyway, might as well be able to do it legally. But seriously, not too many parents are going to have a talk about "responsible" drinking with kids. IF they don't do it before college, why would they do it at 16?
People drink either to get drunk or change their feelings someway or another. Chemical alteration. Let's legalize it all then, and tax it. then maybe my property taxes would go down.

Right. Utah, Idaho and a handfull of southern states have the most strict liquor laws in the country, many with "dry" counties....and which party is running these states almost exclusively, if not exclusively? I'll give everyone a hint... it doesn't rhyme with Remocrats.

Frat boys never grow up.

Really BHL wrote:

<quoted text>
So, why don't people show their 21 year olds how to drink respobsibly? If they can't handle it at 21 in college, why would they handle it at 16 in high school?
But, it does give them 5 more years to build a tolerance.

Drinking responsibly doesn't involve "building a tolerance." Drinking responsibly (at least by medical standards) is generally no more than 1-2 drinks per day. I have no interest in getting drunk, yet I enjoy a glass of wine when I come home from work. That's, in my opinion, responsible drinking, and does not involve becoming tolerant of abusing alcohol.

I agree that parents should continue to model good behavior at age 21 - I just think it should be up to them if they choose to allow it beforehand.

Basically, parents leaving town and kids getting wasted = bad; parents having a glass of wine with their 16 year old at the dinner table = good.

Lowering the drinking age will affect brain development, cause these children to use other drugs, increase fatality and accident rates on our highways, cause more teen abortions. We cannot have this. Alcohol is immoral and people who use it discust me! If it has to be legal at the very least protect our young from it! We need to raise the age of consumption, not lower it. Ronald Reagan raised it to 21 from 18/19 for our own protection! We need patriots like him again to protect our children even furthur!

Lets see now, If a 13 year old wants an abortion according to the promotors , she is a full grown woman. If an 18 year old girl wants to legally sip on a beer she is a child.
Of the 50,000 names on the Viet Nam memorial wall the average age is 19 years old. How can an 18 year old be allowed to die for a country still not be enough of an adult to drink a beer legally?
I just don't understand the philosophy of the MADD bags that should be home cleaning their house and taking care of their own kids instead of tampering with young adults that are quite capable of making their own decisions.

Bike Bubba wrote:

The question is simple to me; do we want to have parents teaching children about liquor, or do we want their fraternity brothers to do the instruction over a keg of Milwaukee's Beast or massive bowl of Everclear punch? Lower the drinking age to 16.

The real issue is parents are not teaching their kids period. The proof is in just what you said, just because a kid moves out of the house and goes to college does not mean his/her parent/s should not have taught them any differently about drinking no matter what the age of legal drinking is. This is exactly why the colleges want the age lowered. At least the kids may be in a bar, or their buddies won't abandon them out of fear of legal reprisal if they are way too drunk (to the point where they are literally dying). It is a fantasy to think this law has anything to do with parents teaching their kids the responsible way to drink.

The Original Kacy wrote:

<quoted text>
Right. Utah, Idaho and a handfull of southern states have the most strict liquor laws in the country, many with "dry" counties....and which party is running these states almost exclusively, if not exclusively? I'll give everyone a hint... it doesn't rhyme with Remocrats.

Hmmmm.

The 3 states that are HIGHEST in percentage of alcohol-related fatal trafic crashes:

1) Wisconsin (Blue State) 49%
2) Hawaii (Blue State) 48%
3) Rhode Island (Blue State) 46%

The 3 states that are LOWEST in percentage of alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes:

48) Alaska (Red State) 31%
49) North Carolina (Red State) 31%
50) Utah (Red State) 22%

http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-sta...

WOW! The three states that are LOWEST in killing themselves by means of drunk driving are being run by which party? I'll give you a hint....it DOES rhyme with DEPUBLICANS!

And the three states that are killing themselves at the highest rate by means of alcohol-related fatal crashesb are being run by which party? Another hint....it DOES rhyme with "Remocrats".

:-0