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Old Enough to Die, Just Not Enough to Drink

John Hartman
SOC 120
Instructor: Getachew Wakgira
October 14, 2013












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When a person turns eighteen years old in our society we consider them an adult and
they are no longer recognized as a juvenile. They are responsible for themselves in the eyes of
the law and subject to the same laws as all other adults. They can vote legally or sign contracts
and even join the military as a matter of fact they can do anything any other adult can do except
for drinking alcohol. Because of the high death rate associated with alcohol among people in
the age range of sixteen to twenty year olds, lawmakers began discussing adjusting the
minimum age. The idea was not welcomed by everybody however, "It just doesn't sit right with
me that people [at the age of 18] have the right to do everything else, including serve their
country, but don't have the right to consume alcohol," state Rep. Richard Marron said. "It's a
form of age discrimination." ( Chiappetta, A. 2005.) Is it fair that they can be an adult but not be
able to drink like one? In this paper I study both sides of the issue of drinking and soldiers
under the age of twenty one.
Before the national campaign against drunk driving was put into place the legal age for
consumption of alcohol was different in each state with lowest being eighteen in some states.
My experience in the late seventies was in Kentucky, a state that had already decided to raise
the age limit to twenty one way back in 1938. However, it was just a drive across the bridge to
Illinois where the limit was eighteen and that was where we bought our beer. Unfortunately for
me the year before I turned eighteen they changed the law in Illinois and I thought I would have
to wait until I was twenty one to drink legally. I happened to join the military in 1980 when I
was nineteen so the changes would not affect me directly because the militarys rule was that
each installation would follow with the state it was in., but I was denied a purchase in my home
state once even in uniform. At the time I was a teen, drunk driving fatalities were at an all-time
high but it wouldnt be until 1980 when MADD or Mothers Against Drunk Driving was
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formed. The group set the pace for the nation and eventually President Ronald Regan signed the
Uniform Drinking Act in 1984 and all states would follow federal regulations requiring any
person purchasing alcohol to be twenty one years old.
By 1988 all states had a uniform drinking code set at twenty one years old, but that was
because conforming to the new national law would secure highway funding for each state. The
National Transportation Safety Board







Bibliography.

Annie Chiappetta, 2005 Should Drinking Age Be 18?
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=667917&page=1

http://drinkingage.procon.org/ Retrieved October 13, 2013

Rod Powers -http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/drinkingage.html Retrieved
October 8, 2013
www.stopalcoholabuse.gov Retrieved October 12, 2013


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www.washingtonaccidentbooks.com Retrieved October 8, 2013