Lawmaker pushes lower military drinking age

[CommunityEditor]

A state lawmaker wants to give members of the armed forces younger than 21 the right to buy alcohol even though it’s in stark contrast to the military’s efforts to diminish underage drinking and related accidents.

“I really don’t think it should create a problem for the military. It might even enhance their morale,” Rep. Fletcher Smith said Wednesday.

State law prohibits the sale or possession of alcohol by anyone under 21. In 1984, South Carolina raised the drinking age to 21 from 18 to comply with federal law.

Smith, a private attorney, acknowledged South Carolina would risk losing several hundred million dollars in federal highway money if the legislation he introduced is approved, but he insisted the change is necessary.

“It’s absurd that people serving in the military are trained to kill on the battlefield but at the same time couldn’t come back home and have a beer,” the Greenville Democrat said. “If you’re old enough to get training in the U.S. military, you should be old enough to get a beer. That training really matures a person.”

Rep. Grady Brown, who served in the South Carolina Air National Guard, said he would support the bill.

“If a man is old enough to defend his country and die for his country,” he shouldn’t be told he’s too young for a beer, said Brown, D-Bishopville.

There’s a different attitude on many military bases attempting to battle drinking by younger men and women, in part to reduce drunken driving and other alcohol-related problems.

At nearby Fort Jackson, recruits may join the Army at age 17 with parental approval. However, no one in basic training may drink, regardless of their age, said base spokeswoman Karen Soule.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams said Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter has a “zero tolerance” policy for underage drinkers.

Overall, he’s seen “a real shift in attitude — an effort to de-glamorize drinking” since he first joined the military at age 20.

“It used to be you’d see four kegs at a picnic. Now, it’s all about drinking responsibly,” said Williams, 36.

Safety advocates, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, think Smith’s bill is a bad idea.

“MADD supports our military and supports living life to the fullest,” Juliet Smith, a spokeswoman for the state chapter, told The (Columbia) State for a story published Wednesday. “Let’s not create additional dangerous risks. Let’s protect our youth and our roadways.”

Chuck Hurley, chief executive officer of MADD’s national office, told the newspaper that similar bills have been introduced in a handful of states, including Kentucky, Nebraska and Vermont.

“These bills are going up against a mountain of data and have very little public support,” Hurley said. “We would be very surprised if these get serious consideration.”


Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...inking_080130/

[Mysykt]

If a person is mature enough to make the decision to join the military and potentially give their life for their country then they are mature enough to have a drink and call a cab. PERIOD. You either lower the drinking age to when you can legally join the military OR you raise the legal age you are ALLOWED to join the military to the same age you are allowed to drink. If a person can't be trusted with their life (and those around them)enough to have a beer, then they should under NO CIRCUMSTANCES be given a gun and shipped off to war!

My personal thanks and appreciation to those who are working towards righting a wrong. Yes, the age for legally drinking alcoholic beverages should be lowered to 18 for the men and women who are serving in the military.

It seems somewhat strange and unfair that an 18-year-old who has served in Iraq or Afghanistan is legally prevented from sitting down and having a drink with the president, defense officials and senior military officers who sent him (or her) over there.

One of the major opponents of lowering the age is that "activist" group, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) --- just another moneymaker with CEO Chuck Hurley making some $250,000 and wanting to maintain his lucrative income.

Serving one's country, by any measure, entails considerably more areas of responsibility than partaking of alcoholic beverages.

[The Universal Curmudgeon_guest]

Originally Posted by billbradshaw

Yes, the age for legally drinking alcoholic beverages should be lowered to 18 for the men and women who are serving in the military.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no national "legal DRINKING age".

There is, however, a federal law that penalizes states (by withholding money) from states that do not have a law making it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to be in POSSESSION of alcohol. (The US Federal government adopted this approach because it doesn't have the "legislative competence" (a technical term that doesn't have anything to do with Federal legislators being a bunch on incompetent dolts) to enact a "National Minimum Legal Drinking Age Law" - short of having a constitutional amendment passed (and we all know what happened with the "Glorious 18th").

In fact, 12 states have NO law governing the minimum age at which a person is allowed to CONSUME (that means "drink") alcoholic beverages.

Admittedly it is a bit difficult to consume alcoholic beverages without being in possession of them, but it is possible.

Additionally, the 14th Amendment would likely make any law that set a "legal drinking age" of 18 for one group and at 21 for another unconstitutional.

"In the 1980s, one of the biggest supporters of the 21-year-old drinking age was then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, whose support was due to the military was losing hundreds of troops each year in drunken-driving accidents, Hurley said. He added that alcohol-related fatalities remain a leading cause of non-combat fatalities."

I love how in the quote it said that the military was losing hundreds of men/women due to alcohol, yet now we are losing hundreds due to suicide. Maybe if you give them something to help them relax, then maybe they wouldn't always be thinking about killing themselves. I personally am in college and on the verge of contracting with the army. I support the bill, and not because I would be able to drink next semester. I really don't drink. But I do think that the lowering of the age for the armed services would not be that big of a deal. I might even help.

[Measure Man]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

"In the 1980s, one of the biggest supporters of the 21-year-old drinking age was then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, whose support was due to the military was losing hundreds of troops each year in drunken-driving accidents, Hurley said. He added that alcohol-related fatalities remain a leading cause of non-combat fatalities."

I love how in the quote it said that the military was losing hundreds of men/women due to alcohol, yet now we are losing hundreds due to suicide. Maybe if you give them something to help them relax, then maybe they wouldn't always be thinking about killing themselves. I personally am in college and on the verge of contracting with the army. I support the bill, and not because I would be able to drink next semester. I really don't drink. But I do think that the lowering of the age for the armed services would not be that big of a deal. I might even help.

Okay...while I am in favor of lowering the drinking age...this has to be one of the most ridiculous arguments for it I've ever seen.

Alcohol is a depressant...do you have any research...any study...that even suggests that drinking alcohol prevents suicide? I bet if you'd looked up relationship between alcohol and suicide you'd find the exact opposite.

I also don't get why military service has anything to do with one's ability to consume alcohol. People keep using that..."if you're old enough to serve in the military..." I don't see the connection...it's almost like saying "If you old enough to have children, you should be old enough to drink a beer."

In my opinion...the drinking age should be 18...because that is the age you are legally an adult...and we really shouldn't make laws that restrict the freedom of adults. They merely have to follow the law and be legally liable for their actions...which they are anyway.

I do think if a lot of states allowed military members under 21 to drink...it might help recruiting though....but then again, careful what you ask for.

I have a question. Does the military set the legal drinking age at 21, or do they just defer to applicable state law? If a state allows minors to drink in the presence of their parents and within the parents' home, can an underage military member do so?

i am a current navy sailor doing shore duty in the U.S., i would love to kick back and have a drink with someone from my command, or a fellow sailor, but i can't, considering i'm only 20. i also am wondering why the government will put a gun in an 18 year old's hands, and give him the necessary training, but won't let him have a drink in the country he defends and risks his life for to protect. it doesn't make any sense, and yes, i also understand it would be unfair to the civilians who are under 21, but who said they can't join as well? yes, some may have medical or other problems, but what about those who want to but are afraid? i honestly think that they should make the legal drinking age for military members 18, not only because i am a sailor but because i know other sailors and other members of the U.S. military are probably stressed by everyday work, and sometimes alcohol does help to ease the nerves. They say if someone gets impaired on alcohol, that they can kill someone. i think a trained military member holding a gun pointed at a human being is more dangerous than a person losing control of their car on the freeway and swerving. you can jump and dodge a swerving car, you can't dodge a bullet(unless you're the matrix). besides, who said all military members aren't responsible?

i am a current navy sailor doing shore duty in the U.S., i would love to kick back and have a drink with someone from my command, or a fellow sailor, but i can't, considering i'm only 20. i also am wondering why the government will put a gun in an 18 year old's hands, and give him the necessary training, but won't let him have a drink in the country he defends and risks his life for to protect. it doesn't make any sense, and yes, i also understand it would be unfair to the civilians who are under 21, but who said they can't join as well? yes, some may have medical or other problems, but what about those who want to but are afraid? i honestly think that they should make the legal drinking age for military members 18, not only because i am a sailor but because i know other sailors and other members of the U.S. military are probably stressed by everyday work, and sometimes alcohol does help to ease the nerves. They say if someone gets impaired on alcohol, that they can kill someone. i think a trained military member holding a gun pointed at a human being is more dangerous than a person losing control of their car on the freeway and swerving. you can jump and dodge a swerving car, you can't dodge a bullet(unless you're the matrix). besides, who said all military members aren't responsible?

some military people abide by the state law, others go by the book( either because they want to make a good impression or because they don't want to lose rank and money.). as for the MADD guy, he can't tell me he's never had an alcoholic drink at the age of 18. In the U.S., you are legally an adult at the age of 18, you can legally join the military and defend the country at 18, and you can also buy cigarettes at 18. so, if you're responsible enough to join the military and/or smoke a cigarette, why can't you drink? Oh, and a question for MADD: who said all of the military got behind the wheel when they got drunk? some take a cab, some have a designated driver, we're not all idiots.