Raise the drinking age to 25?

vanity | 5/20/03 | me

[bassmaner]

Apologies for the vanity, but this is bugging me and I need FReeper input.

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs, and I recently saw a billboard on Baltimore Pike in Clifton Heights sponsored by the Ad Council which appeared to support increasing the minimum drinking age to 25. Is there any kind of serious movement underway to make such an abomination law, or was it some kind of sick joke?

[bassmaner]

Freedom-loving Americans should do everything in their power to see that such a "Prohibition II" never sees the light of day. Organized crime is already a growth industry due to the War on Some Drugs and confiscatory taxes on tobacco - prohibiting alcohol from adults aged 18 through 25 minus 1 day will create a new golden age of the speakeasy and the submachine gun.

Never let this happen!

[bassmaner]

bump

[Phantom Lord]

I remember hearing that when Elizabeth Dole was in Reagan's cabinet she advocating raising the drinking age to 25. I have never been able to find any proof of this though. Anyone know?

[coloradan]

The Prohibitionists have learned incrementalism, as the drinking age ascends from nothing to 18 to 21 to 25. But the 25 year olds will be the demographic with the greatest number of drunk driving fatalities, so maybe the drinking age should be raised to 30 ...

[Thumper1960]

I am strongly in favor of raising the minimum IQ level of anyone wishing to become an elected official to 65.

[Portnoy]

THere is a similar billboard here in Detroit...

..however the rest of the sign says something about remembering to get out and vote.

I beleive the ad's purpose is to motivate young people to VOTE.

[anniegetyourgun]

Oh great, just think of the riff-raff that will be in office. Doh.....too late....

[Dead Dog]

No kidding. I know a 20 year old who got popped with BAC of .04. They were originally going to prosecute him as a MIP and a DUI. He actually could have ended up with a Felony.

These laws are BS. If your an adult at 18, then you should be a freaking adult at 18. Equal Before the Law.

[Thumper1960]

Uh.....I meant to say they should be at least a 65 IQ.

[bassmaner]

I beleive the ad's purpose is to motivate young people to VOTE.

I hope you're right ... taking the nanny state that far is just plain wrong.

[bassmaner]

Considering some of the idiotic legislation that has been passed over the years, it seems that 65 is the average IQ of most elected officials!

[jmc813]

WOD Ping

[jmc813]

One of my esteemed senators (Frank Lautenberg D-NJ) campaigned on a "minimum age of 21 to use guns" platform. I had a lot of fun during the campaign calling his office and arguing with the college-age volunteers manning the phones over this.

[MrLeRoy]

Freedom-loving Americans should do everything in their power to see that such a "Prohibition II"

You mean "Prohibition III"---the War On Some Drugs is "Prohibition II."

never sees the light of day. Organized crime is already a growth industry due to the War on Some Drugs and confiscatory taxes on tobacco - prohibiting alcohol from adults aged 18 through 25 minus 1 day will create a new golden age of the speakeasy and the submachine gun.

Agreed.

[Grando Calrissian]

I don't know about that, but I believe she was the voice that got Reagan to strongarm the "age 21 drinking age or forfeit your federal highway matching funds".

[Cathryn Crawford]

I don't know if it's serious. But this is insane. I, at the age of 18, was being "recruited" by the Navy (unsuccessfully). I can join up, fight, and be killed for America but I can't order a damn beer? Why does this not compute?

It's a stupid double standard. I say drop the drinking age to 18. Or get rid of it all together.

[Roscoe]

I say drop the drinking age to 18.

Let the carnage begin.

[Cathryn Crawford]

What? You disagree?

[9999lakes]

A much more enforcable law would allow drinking UNTIL age 25, then ban it for the rest of people's lives.

[jmc813]

What? You disagree?

What? You're surprised?