Proposed Bill To Change Age Of Drinking Won’t Likely Pass
Since 1984, the federal government has enforced a legal age of drinking by threatening federal highway financing. In the nearly 27 years since the law passed, arguments have raged over the “fairness” of the age limit. One Alaska senator, however, thinks that members of the military should be exempted from the law. Resource for this article – Alaska drinking age reduction proposed, not likely to pass by Newsytype.com.
Age of drinking alternation in Alaska feasible
A bill in the Alaska legislature would lower the age of drinking for certain people. Just like every state, the drinking age is twenty-one. Alaska is following the rest of the country. Rep. Bob Lynn, a representative from Anchorage and Vietnam veteran, has proposed lowering the legal age to 18 for military service members. Showing a valid military ID would allow 18-year-old service members to purchase alcohol and cigarettes legally. The bill has been referred to committee and will likely not be voted on by the whole legislature.
Changes because of the age of drinking change
More than likely, the age of drinking in Alaska will stay at 21. This is for many reasons. This would cost Alaska $17 million in funding that has gone to highways and the federal government while it is something military leadership is against in Alaska. Even if it were legal for underage soldiers to drink, they would not be able to on military base. Alcohol is involved in one out of every three behavioral problems in the military bases. This is why there might be difficulties with the drinking age going down.
The bill argument
Probably the most oft-repeated argument in support of Rep. Lynn’s bill and lowering the drinking age in general is that in case you are old enough to fight and die for country, you need to be able to have a drink. Others support reducing the age of drinking to take away the stigma, helping encourage responsible use of alcohol. One meta-analysis by the University of Minnesota found that a higher drinking age reduces drinking less than half of the time. Alcohol car accidents are reduced though. This isn’t by much though. The study explains:
The magnitude of effects of the age-21 policy may appear small. …However, even modest effects applied to the entire population of youth result in very large societal benefits.”
Citations
U of Minnesota
collegedrinkingprevention.gov/supportingresearch/journal/wagenaar.aspx
National Public Radio
npr.org/2011/04/06/135188110/alaska-law-seeks-to-lower-drinking-age-for-troops?sc=tw
