Underage drinking

[EnglishLady]

I have been doing a little reading and as I understand it, at 18 years old teenagers are "adults" for mostly everything bar drinking alcohol and running for certain official offices.

So my questions is ...

Do you think the legal age for drinking alcohol should be 18 years of age?

What are your views?

 

[jjoerger]

The drinking age was 18 when I was 18. With fake ID I could get into bars at 16 or 17. From my experience I would have to say the drinking age should stay at 21. An exception should be made for anyone serving on active duty in the military. If you are old enough to fight and die for your country you should be old enough to have a beer.

 

[EnglishLady]

An exception should be made for anyone serving on active duty in the military. If you are old enough to fight and die for your country you should be old enough to have a beer.

Thank you, that is a very good point.

 

[robh2]

As someone that volunteers with injured soldiers regularly, if you can make the decision to lose life and limb for your country, you can make the decision to drink.

Robert

 

[RLENT]

From my experience I would have to say the drinking age should stay at 21. An exception should be made for anyone serving on active duty in the military. If you are old enough to fight and die for your country you should be old enough to have a beer.

I disagree - if you subject to being forced or compelled under law to serve in the military (conscription) then you should be able to enjoy those things associated with being of the age of majority: to drink, and even more importantly: to vote

In spite of the fact that we no longer have an active draft, all males between the ages of 18 and 25 are still required to register with the Selective Service System - and would be subject to call up if the draft were re-instituted.

 

[Turtle]

Experience shows that, by and large, most of those under 21 do not drink responsibly. I'm not sure how being active military changes that. I think the legal drinking age should remain at 21, at least to be able to buy it. But I also think it shouldn't be a crime, as it is now, for a parent to give a child a glass of wine with dinner in the home. Throughout history we have been shown definitive proof that outlawing anything that humans enjoy putting in their bodies is never a solution for moderating its use. I think it's better that kids think of wine as a flavorful complimentary part of a meal, to drink it and enjoy it for its flavors rather than for its effects, than think of it as forbidden fruit they can gorge themselves on at the 21st birthday party.

 

[Moot]

If you are old enough to fight and die for your country you should be old enough to have a beer.

If you are old enough to vote you should be old enough to drown your sorrows upon returning from the polls.

 

[cheri1122]

If you are old enough to vote you should be old enough to drown your sorrows upon returning from the polls.

I'm against it - alcohol would make the candidates look attractive, like people in the bar at closing time.

 

[LDB]

The brain isn't fully developed till 25 so 18 is definitely too young to drink as shown by the multitudes of morons on college campuses an ounce or two away from alcohol poisining DOA. Both drinking and voting should be a minimum of 21 with voting allowed at 18 for soldiers who voluntarily enlisted.

 

[Dakota]

The drinking age was 18 when I was 18. With fake ID I could get into bars at 16 or 17. From my experience I would have to say the drinking age should stay at 21. An exception should be made for anyone serving on active duty in the military. If you are old enough to fight and die for your country you should be old enough to have a beer.

I was gonna say the same thing!!!

 

[RLENT]

Both drinking and voting should be a minimum of 21 with voting allowed at 18 for soldiers who voluntarily enlisted.

Unfortunately, the above might well violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ...... of the Constitution ..... you know ..... that thing you think ought to be upheld in it's entirety ..... not just the parts you like ......

The fact of even suggesting such a thing tells an awful lot about those who would do so, in regards to their understanding (or more correctly: lack thereof) of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the meaning of the words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ...."

The brain isn't fully developed till 25 ......

For some folks apparently, it never fully develops ....

 

[xiggi]

I have a 17 y/o daughter, bet you can guess were I stand.

 

[skyraider]

\I enlisted in 66, got home may of 70,,drinking was a major part of our lives. I was 20 once then, was 24 when I got back. Saw a lot of stupid stuff when young men drank. We were off duty when we did that. I have mixed feelings now about the 18 year olds drinking, u know ur bullet proof when ur young,not. I didnt see any of us that could not perform our jobs because of it, but Im sure there were many somewhere that couldnt.

If I was in the shooting end of war again,,yep, I would definitely have a cool one when I could. what did I do, Loaded bombs, airsea rescue,launched planes,plane captain on flight deck, and we lost 2 killed on the flightdeck, 12 killed in a plane returning to the ship, and I've got 6 dead friends from school , died in Nam . Yep,,lets have a beer, Im a big boy now.

 

[scottm4211]

I believe there are states that allow consumption by those under 21 when they are with a parent.
Here in Ontario it's 19. My thoughts are as long as we demonize booze then kids will rebel and go at it full on (I sure did).
With our kids we've done our own educating, and they've been fine.

 

[layoutshooter]

21 except for military. If you are responsible enough to volunteer to serve our Country you are responsible enough to drink. I also believe that women should have to register for the draft and get drafted if the draft is ever activated. Equal rights SHOULD carry equal responsibility. Either everyone faces the draft or no one.

 

[Turtle]

21 except for military. If you are responsible enough to volunteer to serve our Country you are responsible enough to drink.

Illusory corollary. There is no evidence whatsoever that being responsible enough to volunteer for the armed forces equates to being responsible enough to drink. They are two separate issues. There are people over the age of 21 in the military right now who are some of the most irresponsible drinkers you can imagine, yet, according to the logic above, they should be quite responsible since they are serving in the military. It's about responsibility, not about giving someone a "thank-you" break in some other area of responsibility that they wouldn't otherwise have.

 

[Pilgrim]

I sort of agree with the idea of letting members of the military drink alcoholic beverages, but for a different reason. Just the fact that they have volunteered for service doesn't mean they're responsible drinkers. However, those in the military know that if they carry their drinking too far there will be a stiff price to pay, including a possible stay in the brig. Compare this to the segment of today's high school and college students under 21 whose parents - in an effort to demonstrate how cool they are - sponsor keg parties and other events involving alcohol consumption. One has to wonder who the more irresponsible individuals really are.

 

[greg334]

Leave it at 21. I would want to see the voting age to go back to 21 too.

NO to any thought of allowing an active military person to drink at 18, it is the state who has the right to regulate the laws - not the federal government. If we are going to make exceptions, then where will it end.

Isn't the military have a worst accident rate per 100,000 than the civilian world? According to some in the military, like some of the doctors I met, say that a lot of the wounds they have treated are not from enemy action but rather from accidents, like traffic accidents.

 

[cheri1122]

I sort of agree with the idea of letting members of the military drink alcoholic beverages, but for a different reason. Just the fact that they have volunteered for service doesn't mean they're responsible drinkers. However, those in the military know that if they carry their drinking too far there will be a stiff price to pay, including a possible stay in the brig. Compare this to the segment of today's high school and college students under 21 whose parents - in an effort to demonstrate how cool they are - sponsor keg parties and other events involving alcohol consumption. One has to wonder who the more irresponsible individuals really are.

Any parent [or adult] who sponsors or permits underage drinking in their place of residence [even temporary, such as a hotel room], is subject to legal prosecution. In some places, there are campaigns to spread that message, like on billboards.
Also, many colleges/universities are making an effort to crack down on underage & binge drinking, because it is a menace to everyone, not just the drunken morons.
My vote would be to keep the legal age at 21, military or not.

 

[layoutshooter]

Old enough to die for you country, old enough to vote and old enough to drink. OR, no one in the military under the age of 21. EVERYONE face the draft, gender is NO excuse.