There's more coverage of the effort in some states to lower the drinking age from 21, this time in a story from USA Today. (We first discussed this a few days ago.)
The story says 77 percent of Americans are against the idea, citing a 2007 Gallup poll. The poll also found that 60 percent of Americans believe penalties for drinking underage should be tougher. Young people, men and people who drink were more lenient in their attitudes about the age limit and the penalties. Older people and women (and older women, especially) were less tolerant. 81 percent of women over 50 thought penalties for underage drinkers should be more strict. 77 percent of non-drinkers felt the same way.
What do you think? Should we be even tougher on people who get caught drinking before they're 21? Should the drinking age be lowered? To 19? 18? (It's worth noting that it's legal to buy at 18 in most of the rest of the world). Are there other ways to keep traffic deaths down besides prohibiting alcohol for adults 18-21? Should there be different ages for beer, wine and liquor?
Showing posts with label drinking age. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drinking age. Show all posts
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
How old is old enough?
How old is old enough to drink? That's the topic of a big ol' story the Chicago Tribune published Sunday. It looks at movements in several states to lower the legal drinking age from 21 to as low as 18.
The proposals vary from state to state - in South Dakota, petitioners want to allow 19- and 20-year-olds to buy beer with no more than 3.2 percent alcohol, while those in Missouri want simply to open alcohol sales to anyone 18 and older. Some folks in Vermont would like the age lowered to 18 for young people who take alcohol-education classes. In South Carolina and Wisconsin, lawmakers have proposed allowing anyone in the military under age 21 to buy alcohol, reasoning that if they're old enough to die for their country they're old enough to have a beer.
Obviously, there are plenty of people opposed to these efforts. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the American Medical Association, National Transportation Safety Board and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety all point to reduced traffic fatalities in the decades after Congress coaxed states into raising their drinking ages to 21 by tying the issue to highway construction money.
There's an interesting graphic with the Tribune story that shows each state's legal drinking age in 1984 when Congress began pushing states to go to 21. In Alabama, you could drink at age 19.
I'm a little surprised by all this. I wasn't aware there were so many people agitating to lower the drinking age. I'm sorta sympathetic to the logic of the cause. (If you're an adult, you're an adult, right?) But the impact on traffic deaths is hard to ignore. What do you think?
The proposals vary from state to state - in South Dakota, petitioners want to allow 19- and 20-year-olds to buy beer with no more than 3.2 percent alcohol, while those in Missouri want simply to open alcohol sales to anyone 18 and older. Some folks in Vermont would like the age lowered to 18 for young people who take alcohol-education classes. In South Carolina and Wisconsin, lawmakers have proposed allowing anyone in the military under age 21 to buy alcohol, reasoning that if they're old enough to die for their country they're old enough to have a beer.
Obviously, there are plenty of people opposed to these efforts. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the American Medical Association, National Transportation Safety Board and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety all point to reduced traffic fatalities in the decades after Congress coaxed states into raising their drinking ages to 21 by tying the issue to highway construction money.
There's an interesting graphic with the Tribune story that shows each state's legal drinking age in 1984 when Congress began pushing states to go to 21. In Alabama, you could drink at age 19.
I'm a little surprised by all this. I wasn't aware there were so many people agitating to lower the drinking age. I'm sorta sympathetic to the logic of the cause. (If you're an adult, you're an adult, right?) But the impact on traffic deaths is hard to ignore. What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
