Some Democrat has proposed that serving military under 21 should be allowed to buy alcohol when back home.

Is it a federal law that sets 21 as the age at which someone can get a drink or is it set state by state?If the latter, how many states have under 21 as the age?

When was the law first enacted ? Did it come in with the end of prohibition?

What's the argument for the age being 21? You trust someone to be mature enough to vote at 18 but not to drink alcohol in a bar.

No, it is not actually federal law that sets the drinking age at 21, but it might as well be. The federal government tied highway funds to drinking age, just as they did with the 55 mph speed limit. STates can still allow drinking at whatever age they want, but they risk losing federal money for road improvement. That's how it was years ago.

I can't speak for other states, but Illinois changed from a 21 year old law to a 19 year old law in the early 1970s. It ran at least through the late 70s.

Interestingly some states had laws that allowed underage females to come into the bar with 21 year old males (as their date). I don't know about the legality of their being served, but they were.

Prior to the enactment of the 26th Amendment in 1971, the voting age was 21 for federal elections. I am not aware of any states allowing voters to be younger than 21 for state elections.

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/youthissues/1092767630.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

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You trust someone to be mature enough to vote at 18 but not to drink alcohol in a bar.

Yeah and old enough to be sent to Iraq to be killed or lose their legs. But G-d forbid no booze! This is soooo stupid!

I say too young for alcohol too young for war. (Even if they volunteer)

I won't comment on the "too young for war" aspect, but I agree with the higher drinking age. Numerous studies have shown that the brain of a young person is not completely developed until the early-to-mid 20s. Any damage done to a developing brain may be permanent. It's bad enough that the education system is falling apart; we shouldn't encourage young people to make things worse for themselves.

Remember what the unforgettable Dan Quayle said.

A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

And he speaks from experience.

quote:

Originally posted by DorianGreyed:
Numerous studies have shown that the brain of a young person is not completely developed until the early-to-mid 20s. Any damage done to a developing brain may be permanent.

Careful, that's your President you are talking about

And, come to that, the whole student population of every university in England, from Oxford and Cambridge down, for the last several hundreds of years.We have not noticed any brain damage. (We still get the occasional drowning when drunk students fall into the Cherwell or Cam, respectively.Other universities have the benefit of not having been developed next to rivers )

Anyway, your licensing law does not apply to clubs and private premises.Are not student bars on private premises? Are there not clubs for students? Are there not clubs and private premises open to those 'under age' where alcohol is served to them ?

The law here in Britain allows anyone of 18 to buy and be served alcohol. From 16 they are allowed to drink alcohol in pubs and other licensed premises, provided that they are accompanied by someone of 18 or over and are having a meal. We have tightened our law recently. Before that a child of 5 years or older could be given alcohol at meals in a restaurant, by its parents, or any other adult so acting . This was a curious anomaly.Some bars were attached to restaurants.The bar area was out of bounds to children, and had a separate legal status. The restaurant area had a different type of licence and there that liberal law applied.At the same time the law was changed to allow children into pubs provided they are accompanied by an adult: they are allowed to sit in designated 'family areas' of the premises.

Interestingly, we have recently raised the age for buying tobacco to 18. It was 16.

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Any damage done to a developing brain may be permanent.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing about a developed brain. A developed brain can also be damaged from drinking.

People over 18 still drink in the US, but they have to conceal it and that can lead to some dangerous and stupid situations. IMO, it would be far better to have the 18+ crowd damaging their brains in public with adults around them so their undeveloped damaged brains wouldn't make bad decisions like taking a ride from a friend that is drunk.

It would however make bars quite unpleasant for the rest of the adult population to have 18 year olds hanging around.

How in blazes are fitness for military duty and fitness to consume alcohol related?

Some female athletes reach their physical primes in their teens. Are we to say that females should be able to drink when they are younger? This makes about as much sense.

Between the ages of 18 and 21 I was at my physical peak capacity. This was also the most irresponsible period of drinking in my life. I may have made a good soldier, but I was a terrible drunk.