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Old 04-11-2006, 04:35 PM
dekeguy dekeguy is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Virginia and London
Posts: 1,025
I am reasonably sure this has been mentioned before but I think it needs to be said again. When the full age of majority and the voting age were 21 it made at least some sense to regulate legal drinking at that age. However the age of majority and the voting age were lowered to 18 quite a few years back. If one is old enough to vote, to contract, to be seen in all things as an adult member of the citizenry and to be held accountable for one's actions as a full fledged adult it is hard to defend the 21 year restriction. There are considerations regarding propensity of younger people to over do it and get into/cause trouble, but equal justice under the law argues strongly that fair is fair and equality of treatment is a basic human right.
For me, the most basic argument is simply that if one is old enough to fight for and perhaps die for one's country then one is old enough to have a drink in that country. When I was wearing the green suit not a few of my troopers were theoretically too young to drink but they sure as hell were old enough to get shot at.
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