Possibility of Drinking Age Lowered?

[twinkiebear5]

I could care less what the drinking age is as long as it is under my age. I think some of you are either to young or have forgotten that it wasn't raising the age limit back up to 21 that changed the way drunk driving is seen. MADD started a campaign back in the 80's after the limit had already been raised in most states and that is why deaths from drunk driving dropped. I don't have the links to the studies but they show most people who are irresponsible drinkers come from either a family which over drinks or one that doesn't touch it. Basically it is all about what someone does or doesn't learn that makes for being responsible or not.
The gun thing that is being talked about is on the same line. I myself don't care to own a gun but do go shooting with family sometimes and the whole family teaches the younger ones about being responsible with the guns. Drinking should be done the same way. How many of you think someone who has never handled a gun will know all the rules to safe gun handling? As with drinking we either have to be told or showed the way to be responsible.

[Havaianas]

Guns are ok, but supervised access and learning about legal drugs like alcohol and nicotine must wait till an arbitrary age.....

[Nicholas A]

But come on...when I was 16 and first got my license I was NUTS. I was also lucky. It's obvious that 16 year olRAB (on average) aren't as mature as 18 year olRAB and certainly not as mature as 21 years olRAB.

They HAD an 18 year old drinking age and raised it back up. That was before my time but I imagine they had a reason for it...

[The messenger]

When I was in high school in my junior year, one of my classmates had coal black hair and a heavy, black beard. Even though he shaved every morning, by evening he had a heavy shadow by that evening (I still don't have a 5 o'clock shadow as heavy as his and I never did - and I have a relatively heavy beard.) But better than that, his family had a gene that cause premature greying. As a result, he had a distinguished grey at his temples and over his ears. Add to that the fact that his facial characteristics were by then quite mature. As a result, he could buy alcohol anywhere. Rarely was he ever asked for his ID. (By contrast, when I was legal, I was asked for my ID with decreasing frequency until I was 28.) Thus, alcohol was easily available from my Jr. year in high school, through college. There were always ways to obtain alcohol in college.

However, the argument that if a person is "old enough to serve in the military, then he is old enough to drink legally," is a bit bogus. Back in those days, the legal drinking age was 18 on military installations. Of course, the legal age to be in the military was 17.5 years with parental permission, and 18 years without permission. I never saw anyone check an ID for a purchase of alcohol by anyone in the military on a military base.

Of course, those who didn't know when to stop drinking often woke up outside the following morning, vomit soaked bunk, foot locker, wall locker and all.

[Kid_Comic]

Italy has very low alcoholism rates, and they don't even have a minimum age! But that won't work for us. The reason is simple: we have always taught our children that alcohol is a privelege reserved for adults. In Italy, it's never really thought of as such a special privelege, and thus kiRAB don't say "Hey, ya wanna be macho? Drink this!!!"

I suppose you could say that it's a privelege they take for granted. It's far too late for us to do that.

[D37]

Those with a military ID should be able to drink at 18.
There's a recruiting pitch!

[riding4life93]

Alcohol, teenagers.cars equals premature death..

[Jobbernowl]

It is now happening.Binge drinking epidemics between ages 18-21 behind the closed doors of colleges,universitys, summer beach houses,spring brakes parties.All the same despite 21.Try to raise drinking to 25?It will be the same problem,even worse.
By true science,the maturity comes at age 25.Ages 18-24 are premature,because by law of nature these are ages of adolescense.

[Jango]

Actually before 1971,people were mature enough to die at war at 18,but going to cast votes at 21.Did 18 years old were premature for choosing presidents?

[ro/FW-t]

If you can give up your life for our country, you should be able to drink.