Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83 based; site homxb.UUCP
Path: utzoo!lsuc!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!homxb!mr
From: mr@homxb.UUCP (M.RINDSBERG)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Legal Drinking Age
Message-ID: <1125@homxb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Jan-86 09:42:46 EST
Article-I.D.: homxb.1125
Posted: Wed Jan 15 09:42:46 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jan-86 03:34:41 EST
References: <208@nybcb.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T - homxb!mr
Lines: 25

>      In December, the legal drinking age went up to 21 in the state of New
> York. Governor Cuomo and the other supporters of this law say that they support
> the new law because it will saves lives by reducing alcohol related traffic 
> fatalities. I'm sure this is true. By the same argument, if you raise the 
> legal drinking age to 31 it will also reduce alcohol related traffic fatal-
> ities, or 41 or 51 or 61. The draft age is 18. We trust 18-20 year olds with 
> M-16's in the army, but not with alcohol. I think that's ridiculous. 18-20 
> year olds are adults. To raise the drinking age to 21 is limited Prohibition, 
> in my opinion & history shows us what a failure Prohibition was. By the way I 
> am 23 years old, so the law didn't affect me. It just angered me.
>                                             Shawn P. Daly
>                                             seismo!cmcl2!nybcb!daly

This is a useless argument. The law doesn't say that 18-21 year olds are
not permitted to drink alcohol. The law says that they can't be served
or sold alcohol. This is a most ignored law around, any 18 year old who
wants to drink will get hold of alcohol, in fact, the local bar will sell it
to him despite any laws (i.e. power of the buck)
All these laws are useless. The only way to stop drunk driving is to make
the penalty something to be feared. (i.e. loss of licence for good on first
offense, jail on second offense, death on third offense plus high fines
for each)

Mark
homxb!mr