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States Weigh Lowering Drinking Age

Posted Mar 21, 08 3:45 PM CDT in Arts & Living,  US 

(Newser) – Several states are considering lowering the drinking age, spurred in part by concerns that teenage service members can fight overseas but can’t drink at home, USA Today reports. Kentucky, Wisconsin, and South Carolina are weighing a military-only change to alcohol laws, while other states may lower the legal age for all, with a few stipulations.

“If you can take a shot on the battlefield, you ought to be able to take a shot of beer,” says a South Carolina state rep. But the movement may not hold up against the numbers: 77% of Americans oppose the idea, and reports say current laws have cut traffic deaths among  18- to 20-year-olds by 13%.

Source USA Today

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Mugs of beer are served at the Thrush Tavern in Montpelier, Vt., in this June 29, 2004 file photo.   (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Though some argue that if 18 is old enough to fight for your country, it's old enough to drink, retired vice admiral Thomas Barrett says "I don't think it's the same type of maturity."   (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
U.S soldiers cheer as Kid Rock performs on stage at a U.S base in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007. Some argue that if 18-year-olds can go to war, they should be able to drink.   (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
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alcohol  • American troops  • teenagers  • South Carolina  • beer  • Minnesota  • Wisconsin  • Missouri  • Kentucky  • Vermont  • South Dakota  • state governments  • drinking age


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