TMC NEWS POLL
More than 100 College Presidents, including The Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee, say that lowering the current legal drinking age from 21 to 18 would actually help combat alcohol abuse. They say that the current law encourages dangerous binge drinking on campuses.
Opponents say that lowering the age to 18 would cause a rise in fatal car crashes and brain damage to young people.
Laura Dean-Mooney, President of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, issued a statement condemning the proposal of lowering the drinking age calling it "a misguided initiative that uses deliberately misleading information to confuse the public."
"As the mother of a daughter who is close to entering college, it is deeply disappointing to me that many of our educational leaders would support an initiative without doing their homework on the underlying research and science," Dean-Mooney said. "Parents should think twice before sending their teens to these colleges or any others that have waved the white flag on underage and binge drinking policies."
Some states have suggested that the law should be changed to allow those who are in the military to drink if they are 18 years or older.
We would like to know what you think – You can take part in our TMCNEWS.NET POLL and also leave your comments about the proposal.
Opponents say that lowering the age to 18 would cause a rise in fatal car crashes and brain damage to young people.
Laura Dean-Mooney, President of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, issued a statement condemning the proposal of lowering the drinking age calling it "a misguided initiative that uses deliberately misleading information to confuse the public."
"As the mother of a daughter who is close to entering college, it is deeply disappointing to me that many of our educational leaders would support an initiative without doing their homework on the underlying research and science," Dean-Mooney said. "Parents should think twice before sending their teens to these colleges or any others that have waved the white flag on underage and binge drinking policies."
Some states have suggested that the law should be changed to allow those who are in the military to drink if they are 18 years or older.
We would like to know what you think – You can take part in our TMCNEWS.NET POLL and also leave your comments about the proposal.
posted by TMC NEWS at 8:56 PM
9 Comments:
if you can go fight for your country and be old enough to die you should at least be able to drink
and if you have the ability to choose the next president, you can drink
if not lower the drinking age raise the age to 21 to go into the military
Agreed.
It's not like MOST 15-20 year olds drink already. Kids nowadays are fairly responsible and realize not to drink and drive. All of my friends are 18-20 years old, and they ALL know better. Drinking and driving was FAR more prevalent when my Dad was a kid in the 70's.
Heck... at 18 they let you buy cigarettes, and those are FAR more worse than alcohol is. They cause cancer, emphysema, lung cancer, strokes, etc.
Ive drank since i was like 15 or 16 on a normal basis by the time im 21 which is this dec. I'm not even going to want to drink. Ive gone through that stage long enough and now its time to move on.
It's a tough call... I agree that if you can send our children to fight a war at 18 then why can't they have a beer. But on the flip side as a mother, I am concerned that at 18 there is still so much to learn about life and drinking takes away from that to a degree if kids are not properly educated on the consequences that drinking can bring.
Michele
i do think the military age should be raised to 21, but lowering the drinking age is ridiculous. you can not use the justification "they are going to do it anyway" as a reason to lower the drinking age. if that were the case we would end up living in a world of anarchy.
to anonymous #1, i would like to thank you for my first laugh of the morning.
"Kids nowadays are fairly responsible and realize not to drink and drive."
your kidding right?
The legal drinking age should be 19. This way it at least keeps alcohol out of the high schools. If it was lowered to 18, you would open a pandoras box of drinking problems amongst high school students, which is already a problem in some areas.
Well... I agree, and disagree...
History, and other countries have shown for the past 100 years that regulation works way better than prohibition.
Take Germany for example. The drinking age is basically if you can see over the bar you can get served, lol. Sounds ridiculous to see 14 year olds drinking a beer right???
Well, take this into consideration- look at how low the alcohol related crimes, crashes, DUI's, and other alcohol related mishaps are in that country, and all other countries that have the same motive and thoughts.
What makes underage drinking so "popular and cool" amongst teens is that it is illegal. So they feel a sense of "living on the edge", "being dangerous", and "rebelling".
Just think about it- the more regulated something is at a lower age, the harder it is to get anyways.
Marijuana, speed, cocaine, meth, and all of those other horrible drugs are easier to get as a teen than alcohol and/or cigarettes.
I just look at it as, I am from Augsburg, Germany originally. My family could give a crap less about drinking... So, I would drink a couple beers here and there, and at the age of 21 I was already a completely sober person. It is really hard to determine what age should be appropriate because no matter what there will be pros and cons.
Besides, (if) once it is lowered to the age of 18 there would be a huge blast of crazy stuff going on because of all of these 18 year olds now that could buy it. It would be the new "cool thing" to make them feel important... BUT- then the next issue would be- "LETS LOWER THE AGE TO 16!"
So, it is really open for scrutiny AND praise. It just all depends on who you are, and how you feel I guess...
Nate White
After watching my kids when they were younger and being in the beverage business for a few years, I learned something. When kids aren't old enough to drink, someone in their group is old enough to buy for everybody. They get a case or two and go someplace and drink it all and then drive. When they are old enough they go out and sip one or two responsablly. An accident may happen, but I'd be willing to bet there would be fewer than if they were binge drinking.
I love the whole "You can fight for your country but you can't have a beer" argument. Most military installations, especially overseas, allow the soldiers to drink at 18. Just because you are OF AGE to fight for your country, it shouldn't provide you with any special benifit. If you want to drink at 18 then enlist. I agree, if you can defend this country then you should be able to have a beer.
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