Drinking Age
There has been a lot of debate whether the legal drinking age should be lowered or not. The Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act was passed in 1984. This law was passed to increase the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. There has been a mixed reaction over this act. There are some people who support it while there are others who oppose it. Opponents of this law believe that the federally imposed drinking law is unconstitutional. They believe that the rights of the states were overridden. However it is noted that the drive to increase the legal drinking age was made by citizen groups. The public also supported the 1984 Drinking Age act.
Teenagers usually drink as an act of rebellion. When a teenager turns 18, he/she is allowed to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury, serve in the military and hold public office. Therefore they feel that they have the right to decide for themselves if they want a drink or not.
Underage Drinking
Critics believe that the federal government has no right to take such a decision. Wheelan and Kenkel are two opponents of the current minimum age law. Kenkel proposes imposing a teen tax on alcohol, as it could be a more viable option than age restriction. He believes that it would cheaper to lower the minimum age rather than denying them the right to drink. A teen tax would be as effective as a minimum age law. It would allow an "adult" to maintain his/her civil liberties. The revenue from the teen tax could be used for alcohol abuse education.
Wheelan feels that teenagers can be easily tempted by alcohol, as it is one of their first steps towards adolescence. This could lead to grave consequences. Recent studies have proved that cases of alcohol abuse and driving accidents have risen drastically due to the adverse effect of drinking age laws. Experts believe that it is important to have a drinking age law for the sake of national health and safety.
It would be a wise decision to lower the drinking age to 18. According to wheelan, a college-age teen would most likely want to spend their evenings in clubs and bars. However they would not be able to get access to alcohol in...
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