Drinking Laws Essay -- essays research papers

I. Introduction and Description of Problem (APX 2 PAGES) 1) Statement of the Problem: (5 pts) Eighteen-year olds throughout the United States are considered legal adults in almost every way, with one notable exception: the privilege of having an alcoholic beverage. In every state, eighteen-year olds are legally permitted to drive, live as they choose, and work where they choose. Eighteen-year olds pay taxes as other adults do, are subject to all criminal and civil laws, and are punished, jailed and even executed for crimes they might commit against such laws. They are also permitted to hold most local, state and federal government public offices, and can sponsor and pass new laws if elected. Again, the only exception to complete adult rights is a prohibition against an eighteen-year old buying or enjoying a beer or other type of alcoholic beverage anywhere in the United States. Many countries elsewhere throughout the world have lower drinking ages or no age limitation or prohibition at all on consumption of alcoholic beverages. Interestingly, these countries likewise have lower incidences of abuse, lower death rates in automobile accidents, and lower arrest rates for alcohol-related offenses than in the US. Both Canada and Mexico, as examples, have legal 18-year old drinking age laws, and have abuse indices well below those in the US. Likewise, the Italians, Chinese, German, Austrian, and French have for years allowed for younger adults to purchase and consume alcohol. Again, social and criminal problems among 18-21 year olds in these countries are much smaller in number and severity as opposed to those in the US. Sociological and psychological researchers studying this problem attribute the difference to the various countries’ accepted methods for mentoring â€Å"acceptable† behavior.† Their premise is that we in the US tend to rely on the force of law as a deterrent to bad behavior, rather than our families teaching acceptable behavior (including drinking) in adult settings. Even between states in the US, patterns of alcohol-related injuries point to proof of an age/alcohol bias among our legislators. It has been proven that when two similar jurisdictions (e.g., Wisconsin vs. Illinois in the 1980’s; Vermont vs. Other New England states in the early 1980’s; and New York vs. Quebec in the mid-1980’s), the one with the lower drinking age had a lower rate of al... ...iquor store, gain income from his investment, but be unable to buy something from the store that produces income for him. An 18-year old Army private, sworn to protect the United States from danger and harm and serving in the caves of Afghanistan, might find himself at risk of death to protect a Congressman who would not or could not offer him a â€Å"thank you† drink if he had the chance to do so. Our nation would be better with passage of this bill by recognizing finally that ills of drinking to excess are not limited to those less than 21 years of age. This Bill would make 18-year olds more responsible and less likely to harbor behavior that leads to a host of other social ills and problems. Finally, the Bill would also establish a fund for aiding victims of drunk driving – a cause very much deserving of national attention rather than hyped-up charges of teenage abuse The United States has long recognized that adulthood is sanctioned at 18 years of age for every other reason except our national drinking age. It is time for us to recognize this inequality with a sanctioned study of the consequences and a long-awaited and carefully drafted Bill for lowering the drinking age to 18.