Drinking Age Persuasive Essay

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Drinking has been a hot topic for a few decades now. In 2018 the legal age to buy and consume alcohol is 21. At the moment at 18 you can buy deadly weapons and in some states purchase cigarettes. The age requirement is unjust ; regulations on lethal weapons and cigarettes are far less strict than those of alcohol. While purchasing cigarettes below the age requirement is illegal however smoking is not. Whereas alcohol, if an underage young adult is caught with alcohol they could be charged with misdemeanor and fined. At the age of 18 we are given the responsibilities of an adult, like dying for our country, voting for our elected officials, but we are still not mature enough for alcohol. Drinking is seen as this forbidden activity, hence why …show more content…
Studies have shown 60% of teens have tried alcohol before the age of 21. The main argument is that “ the law should be brought into sync with age-of majority rights such as voting, military service, or contract”(Main, C.41). At 18 young adults are given several responsibilities and are held to the same standards as adults. Yet young adults are seen incapable of handling alcohol. At the age of 18 you are able to serve in the military, pay taxes, own a gun, and even be governor in some states.(Wil Fulton.1) Yet 18 year old are seen as not “mature” enough to handle and drink alcohol, but mature enough to purchase lethal weapon. The laws should be changed to correspond with the drinking age, being that most responsibilities of an adult are taken on at the age of 18, but drinking age is …show more content…
Now, legislators saw an increase in accident related deaths while intoxicated and decided to increase the legal age to 21. Studies have shown that the age group with the highest percentage of fatal crashes due to alcohol is the age group of 21-24 years old before raising the age and today. The law passed had little to no effect on the percentage of fatal crashes, and we are seeing an increase in binge and underage drinking. The solution to the problem was not raising the age but rather informing children and exposing them to the drink. Unlike Europe and many other countries, United States does not expose children from a young age to alcohol, therefore many are more likely to fall into peer pressure. To beat this epidemic of underage and binge drinking is to inform children on the risks of tha substance, and allow them to gain more knowledge. As a result children are more likely to drink more responsibly and less likely to see alcohol as this “forbidden fruit”. Many have stated that “ I’d rather see my kids sipping beer out of a red solo cup at a well patrolled fraternity party than drinking shots and popping Vicodin in someone's basement(Cary.4) Lowering the drinking age can help reduce binge drinking but also diminish the uses of fake ID, and potentially sexual assaults. Not only should we lower the drinking age but educate students “Even though

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