[Legal] Drinking Age?

[Nickel]

I registered because it is the law

So lay off the sauce until you're 21. That is the law, after all.

 

[Triggerfish]

What's the difference between an 18 year old drunk and a 40 year old drunk?

Not much but a 18 yr old driver is normally a worse driver than a 40 yr old both in skill and judgement. Why do you think the your insurance drops when you reach 25?

 

[Triggerfish]

I don't know about maryland but in a lot of states a parent can give his or her child alcohol as long as it's in the home away from public view.

 

[Spoiled]

So lay off the sauce until you're 21. That is the law, after all.

You have a bad habit of doing this selective reading thing. You only read what you want to see. I never said I was drinking. I gave further reason in addition to the law for registering for the draft, the way you put it made it seem insulting on a few levels (a. i cant afford college and that i would have not done it unless iwas getting paid to do so). There is also a difference between misdemeanors and felonies.

 

[Vince]

Its a well known fact, that most people start drinking before their 21st birthday, and at 18 one can be drafted to serve our country or do it on their own accord.

Same question, different generation. When I was young, tail end of the Vietnam war. They still had the draft and the drinking age in PA was 21, but the drinking age in NJ then was 18. Signed up for the draft and since I lived on the NJ border, I went over ever Fri and Sat night to drink and chase women. Mainly women. Drinking at 18 got to be no different than drinking at 21. Enlisted at 20 and by the time I left boot camp I was 21. After you get done reading all my b/s, I would have to say that lowering the drinking age to 18 would be astronomically stupid. It used to be 18 in MD in the late 70's. Too many alcohol incidents, drunk driving, accidents (people killed), bar fights, etc. But then I also feel they should raise the draft age to 21. Age old saying, if you're old enough to fight for your country, you're old enough to drink alcohol. Same argument, different generation.

 

[Nickel]

You have a bad habit of doing this selective reading thing. You only read what you want to see. I never said I was drinking. I gave further reason in addition to the law for registering for the draft, the way you put it made it seem insulting on a few levels (a. i cant afford college and that i would have not done it unless iwas getting paid to do so). There is also a difference between misdemeanors and felonies.

Get over yourself, seriously. Everyone I knew in high school filed a FAFSA, regardless of their parents' income. In the real world, not many parents are going to turn down Uncle Sam's help when it comes to financing their child's education. So to be offended by my mere mentioning financial aid in reference to you is ridiculous, grow up.

If you aren't drinking underage why are you concerned? Drinking is not the "end all and be all" of life. So your peers will have to wait a few years to "legally" drink. Cry me a river, there are more important things in life to worry about.

 

[Vince]

Drinking is not the "end all and be all" of life. So your peers will have to wait a few years to "legally" drink. Cry me a river, there are more important things in life to worry about.

Definitely.

 

[Chain729]

Not much but a 18 yr old driver is normally a worse driver than a 40 yr old both in skill and judgement. Why do you think the your insurance drops when you reach 25?

And this has what to do with drinking? Are you implying that driving drunk at 40 is different than driving drunk at 18?

 

[Ken King]

I don't know about maryland but in a lot of states a parent can give his or her child alcohol as long as it's in the home away from public view.

Just checked and the law in Maryland states that a person under 21 can possess and consume alcohol as long as it is provided by an immediate family member over 21 and within their residence or within the curtilage of the residence. So not only could a parent provide the beverage but an older sibling of legal age could do it too.

 

[MerF]

Yes, there is no doubt I'm sure that raising the legal drinking age has lowered the death rate of incidents. So why don't we just re-abolish drinking altogether, that way there is NO D&D deaths period?

C'mon now, it's not ONLY that they raised the drinking age, but that there is more awareness of the dangers (not to mention the PENALTIES) of D&D throughout the country. I don't think that is enough of a reason to say NO.

 

[Spoiled]

If you aren't drinking underage why are you concerned? Drinking is not the "end all and be all" of life. So your peers will have to wait a few years to "legally" drink. Cry me a river, there are more important things in life to worry about.

The same reason I think marijuana should be legal if cigarettes are, and gays should be able to marry. I posted this to make discussion, this is after all the forum for politics.

 

[Triggerfish]

Are you implying that driving drunk at 40 is different than driving drunk at 18?

Either way you'd be stupid to do it but guess what. A lot more fatalities of drinking and driving are caused by young drivers. In other worlds more young drivers drinnk and drive or young drivers just are careless to begin with. you know the "I'm invulnerable so it won't happen to me," thinking that a lot of people have when they're young.

However I think a 40 yr old who drink and driver is a bigger idiot not to have learned that it can kill someone.

 

[Ken King]

Yes, there is no doubt I'm sure that raising the legal drinking age has lowered the death rate of incidents. So why don't we just re-abolish drinking altogether, that way there is NO D&D deaths period?

Don’t kid yourself, even if banned completely the people would still get it like they do with drugs and there would still be associated deaths. We still have underage drinking and driving fatalities, probably always will, but the goal is to minimize the numbers as much as possible. Besides what happened in America when alcohol was last abolished? Illegal production, importation, and consumption were commonplace as there were those that grasped the lucrative opportunity to deliver what the people wanted. Yeah, let’s go back to those good old days. That is exactly what we need, more criminals.

C'mon now, it's not ONLY that they raised the drinking age, but that there is more awareness of the dangers (not to mention the PENALTIES) of D&D throughout the country. I don't think that is enough of a reason to say NO.

Agreed, it wasn’t just the change of the age and as I said earlier we had obtained a greater awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving and that we were experiencing many more alcohol related fatalities when the age was set at a lower age. These deaths were the driving factor in making the change though. It was a concentrated effort by distraught parents and groups like MADD that gained prominence, established an effective lobbying effort geared towards those that create legislation, and actively demanded enforcement of our laws which, in my mind, is why there has been a reduction in the alcohol related death rate for this age group. Why should we reverse the effort?

But you know what? As it is legal for a person under 21 to sit at home with family members and imbibe I see this as less of an issue as what I first thought. Matter of fact I would say that this is a non-issue. Yeah, I know, now you want that group to be able to go out in public and do it. Better yet, why have any age restrictions at all?

 

[Chain729]

Either way you'd be stupid to do it but guess what. A lot more fatalities of drinking and driving are caused by young drivers. In other worlds more young drivers drinnk and drive or young drivers just are careless to begin with. you know the "I'm invulnerable so it won't happen to me," thinking that a lot of people have when they're young.

This goes back to teaching your children responsibility. Unfortunately, we, as a society, embrace an ideal that nothing is our fault: Nothing bad happens because we act foolishly and nothing will happen to us. Adults are just as much at fault for this than are children. I can't count how many times I've heard: "Guns should be illegal. Noone needs them to protect themselves, that's what police are for." The mentality is the same, the only difference is the subject.

[rant]Kids do something stupid; so instead of teaching them to be responsible and allowing them to learn from their mistakes, we make laws protecting them from themselves. Unfortunately, they're now robbed of another opportunity to gain wisdom. Gotta love simple people- without them, life wouldn't be so humorous. [/rant]

However I think a 40 yr old who drink and driver is a bigger idiot not to have learned that it can kill someone.

This I completely agree with

 

[Chain729]

Don’t kid yourself, even if banned completely the people would still get it like they do with drugs and there would still be associated deaths. We still have underage drinking and driving fatalities, probably always will, but the goal is to minimize the numbers as much as possible. Besides what happened in America when alcohol was last abolished? Illegal production, importation, and consumption were commonplace as there were those that grasped the lucrative opportunity to deliver what the people wanted. Yeah, let’s go back to those good old days. That is exactly what we need, more criminals.

Yep. The Mob was created in the name of protecting society from alcohol. Not to mention, that do to the nature of the business, more people ended up dead from alcohol than if it was gov't regulated. Alcohol wasn't always made correctly and often ended up containing chemicals to make it seem stronger. These chemicals just happened to be far more toxic than standard drinking alcohol (I forget the name of the hydro-carbon chain).

But you know what? As it is legal for a person under 21 to sit at home with family members and imbibe I see this as less of an issue as what I first thought. Matter of fact I would say that this is a non-issue. Yeah, I know, now you want that group to be able to go out in public and do it. Better yet, why have any age restrictions at all?

I would say "vitually a non-issue." I wouldn't mind seeing the age to buy alcohol lowered to 18, with the following restrictions:

1. You can't consume it in public- including bars.
2. You must transport it a permanant residence immediately (basically, where you file taxes), no other stops allowed.
3. Noone in the car under 18 allowed.
4. No open alcoholic beverages in the car or in public, period.
5. Harsher punishments for restrictions already in effect.

The simple reason is that not everyone in the state of MD between the ages of 18 and 20 lives with family.

 

[Bogart]

Why do people always want to link ingesting poison and serving in the military? I don't see the connection

 

[Spoiled]

Why do people always want to link ingesting poison and serving in the military? I don't see the connection

Simple:
Some people choose to drink (21)
Some people choose to join the military (at 18, some cases 17)
Some people die in the military
Some people die when drinking


People are fighting for their nation when they still have laws saying "You arent old enough to do this" when they are the very reason those laws are in place. The military is a bigger decision that will have more influence on your life than alcohol. Why should an 18year older be able to influence his life and the fate of the nation and not be able to drink to forget some problems, or just have a bit of fun?

Soldiers in Iraq who are 18 can drink, then they come back to the land of the free in which they were risking their life for and they lose a privilege?

 

[BuddyLee]

Solution: Pass a law to make it illegal to drink if you have yet to serve your country. If and when you serve your country for an allotted amount of time you may then drink. This would certainly increase the enrollment for the armed forces and other areas that would be marked as 'serving your country'. It's your country and freedom, show how much you want it.

 

[RoseRed]

Solution: Pass a law to make it illegal to drink if you have yet to serve your country. If and when you serve your country for an allotted amount of time you may then drink. This would certainly increase the enrollment for the armed forces and other areas that would be marked as 'serving your country'. It's your country and freedom, show how much you want it.

Perhaps it could lead to another form of fake IDs. :shrug:

 

[BuddyLee]

Perhaps it could lead to another form of fake IDs. :shrug:

We should develop the market early for a speedy buck.