Drinking Age Law

In 1984, a constitutional amendment was passed to increase the drinking age from 18 to 21 years of age. However, the current drinking age has sparked much debate over whether or not this an effective age requirement in today’s society. The United States has the highest drinking age out of all the countries in the world, and the average of the countries is 18 years old. 

The major issue with the drinking age is the actions of those that are underage and consuming alcohol illegally. Underage persons have the ability to vote, fight, marry, drive, etc. by the age of 18, so why are they not allowed to drink legally? This is where the definition of a person becomes unclear. How can a person be considered an adult by 18, but still not legally be able to consume alcohol. In the case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee, the law defines a person. In this case, the law says a person cannot drink until the age of 21. Is a person still a person regardless of whether or not they can exercise all age related laws?

As a result of the inability to drink until 21, many underage individuals find themselves drinking behind closed doors and consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. An example would on college campuses where the majority of students are underage and consuming an alarmingly high amount of alcohol on frequent occasions. Many believe that if 18 were the drinking age that the novelty of drinking would not be as prevalent. In turn, making the act of drinking more casual as opposed the dangerous. Others believe that if the law were to be changed that this would trickle down to younger age groups wanting the law to be lowered more. Also, if the age were to be lowered then drunk-driving accidents would increase again.  Lastly, this law excludes me. With this said, I have acquired all of the responsibilities of that of an adult, except this one. 

Statistics from SADD(Students Against Destructive Decisions)

http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#underage

-In 2005, about 10.8 million persons ages 12-20 (28.2% of this age group) reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Nearly 7.2 million (18.8%) were binge drinkers, and 2.3 million (6.0%) were heavy drinkers.

-Three out of every four students (75%) have consumed alcohol (more than just a few sips) by the end of high school.

This chart displays the percentage of alcohol consumption of full-time college students. This shows that there is an alarming amount of underage consumption of alcohol, binge and heavy drinking. Binge drinking is the consumption of 5 or more alcoholic beverages. 

The following video examines the debate over the drinking age.

Drinking Age Debate

Resources

1)"Constitution of the United States - Official." National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html>.

2) "CITIZENS UNITED v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMM’N." LII | Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZS.html>.

"SADD Statistics." Welcome to SADD. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#underage>.—Statistics

3)"Underage Alcohol Use among Full-Time College Students, SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies." OAS Home: Alcohol, Tobacco & Drug Abuse and Mental Health Data from SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k6/college/collegeunderage.htm>.—Chart of underage drinking

4)"YouTube - Drinking Age Debate." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37WgpzsTTD4-- Drinking age debate video

5)"Late Puberty." Gamagedara. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://gamagedara.org/tag/late-puberty/-->.—Drinks Images

Voting Age Law

The 26^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution established that the voting age is 18 years old. This law enables a person to vote on which laws they have to live by. This is the true establishment of a person. If they have the ability to vote, then they have a voice in society and the ability to influence the laws that establish what a person can and cannot do. This law includes me, and I find that it is one of the most liberating laws because I can share my vote and have it matter. This law is also essential to society because it forces individuals to become informed as to what they are voting on and what is going on in the media in regards to politics at the local, state, and national levels. When an individual reaches the age of 18, they are legally allowed to fight, marry, vote, etc. This age is such a pivotal moment in the definition of a person. At this moment, they are given more responsibility and have the ability to impact the lives of other persons. At 18, adulthood is reached and the time where they are no longer bounded to a guardian, in turn a true person. 

This law relates closely to the premise of the movie, Iron Jawed Angels. The movies primary theme is the woman’s suffragist movement. This relates to the idea of age based laws when defining a person because when women did not have the right to vote it was as if they were not a complete person yet. They fought restlessly to achieve the status of a true person and have the same rights to that of their male counterparts of the same age. They were victorious in their fight, and now women of the age 18 can have the right that enables them to be considered a whole person. 

These images highlight the want for a lowered voting age. Younger people want the ability to voice their opinions and be considered a whole person with a voting right.

The following video examines the debate over lowering the voting age. This video includes 16 year olds making claims as to why they should be able to vote.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GsJHz1whoA

Resources

1) "Constitution of the United States - Official." National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html>.

2)"Free Legal Information on Washington State Law." M.G. Gallagher Law Library. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/legalinfo.html>.—Vote Button

3)"File:NYRA Berkeley Voting Age Protest.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 09 Nov. 2010.<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYRA_Berkeley_voting_age_protest.jpg>.—Kids Protesting

4) "Iron Jawed Angels (TV 2004) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338139/>

5)"YouTube - Lower Voting Age - Commercial 1 [NYRA]." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GsJHz1whoA>.—Video over lowering voting age

6) "Should the Voting Age Be Lowered? | Syracuse.com." Blogs on News, Sports, Entertainment and Life in Central New York - Syracuse.com. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://blog.syracuse.com/voices/2008/10/should_the_voting_age_be_lower.html> --Voting Image

Criminal Punishment Age

The law on criminal punishment states that the ultimate decision regarding the jailing of an individual is left to the decision of a judge. In certain circumstances, criminals under the age of 18 are sent to juvenile jail. Meaning the age of 18 indicates a difference between an adult and a juvenile. With this said, persons above the age of 18 that commit a crime cannot receive the treatment of a juvenile. Therefore all adults must be more responsible with their actions. Also, if a juvenile were to commit a severe enough crime they would be punished to the degree an adult would. I am included in this law, and that I would no longer receive the punishment of a juvenile. This increases the responsibility I must exhibit on a daily basis. With the notion of severe punishment of a crime, adults must smarten up. I believe that this is an effective law because individuals are not sure what punishment they might receive. Therefore, at the age of 18, an individual is truly a person because they can receive punishment to the full extent of the law. This law concerts well with others such as voting, fighting, marriage, etc. because they establish 18 years of age as the basis for adulthood responsibility and a true person.

This law relates to the Vindication of the Rights of Men because it relates to age differences. In a Vindication, Wollstonecraft analyzes Burke’s opinion of the difference between child and adult. This relates to the law because the form of punishment is all based upon whether the judge believes the criminal has committed a crime worthy of adult or juvenile punishment.

Due to the lack of a set age of the law of criminal punishment, this law forces individuals to act as a true person rather than have their actions determined by a specific age. Though the age of 18 is a very influential age for criminal responsibility, persons must have to act like a mature, responsible person to not commit a crime worthy of punishment.

Site on the story of criminal punishment. 

Site about statistics of crime.

Resources

1) "Constitution of the United States - Official." National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html>.

2)"Should PCSOs Have Handcuffs?" P.C.S.O.com • Index Page. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.policecommunitysupportofficer.com/online.html>.—Handcuff Image

3) "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: National Report Series National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/191031.pdf -- Statistics and Link to PDF with statistics of other categories

4)"Online Library of Liberty - A Vindication of the Rights of Men." Online Library of Liberty - Front Page. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php?title=991&Itemid=28>.

5) Category, By. Crime and Punishment Home Page. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://crime.about.com/>.—Story of criminal punishment

Opinion on Laws

I agree with the laws regarding the voting age and criminal responsibility. However, I disagree with the law about drinking age. I believe that the constitution should be amended once again to lower the drinking age to 18.This video discusses the debate over the drinking age and gives great examples.





 I agree with what is said about why the drinking age should be lowered. People are simply drinking behind closed doors and underground to avoid the punishment. People are finding away around the law to drink and drink a lot. If the law were lowered people would drink more responsibly and this would prevent a story like that in the video from happening again.  

Most importantly, the age 18 is the reason the drinking age should be lowered. At the age of 18 individuals are allowed to fight, marry, vote, purchase tobacco, etc. This is age that children become adults, and are responsible for their crime. So why can’t they drink? They are entrusted to vote for our next president and the laws that affect society. 18 year olds are legally allowed to blacken their lungs by being able to purchase tobacco, marry whomever they want, and fight for their country. Yet they cannot drink? I believe this should be changed because having a set age of 18 can truly establish when an individual becomes a true person with no guardianship and new responsibilities. If there is an one age that enables a person to complete a certain task, then that should be when they are a true person. If there is not set age, then there is still a grey, unclear area with no definite, established definition of a person. This relates back to Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee, in that law defines a person. If all the laws point to the age 18 as enabling a person to complete certain tasks, then that should be when they are a true person.

Resources

1) "Drinking Age Debate - 60 Minutes - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4819332n&tag=related;photovideo>.

2) "Constitution of the United States - Official." National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html>.

3) "Underage Soldiers May Soon Get To Play Beer Pong Too! | Beyond My Two Cents." Beyond My Two Cents I'LL GIVE MY TWO CENTS, YOU GIVE YOURS. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.beyondmytwocents.com/underage-soldiers-may-soon-get-to-play-beer-pong-too/>. – Drinking Age Debate Photo

4) "CITIZENS UNITED v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMM’N." LII | Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZS.html>.