what the experts say

"State age -21 law are one of the most effective public policies ever implemented in the Nation ... I am chagrined to report that some supposedly responsible officials would like to repeal them." - Jim Hall, Chairman; National Transportation Safety Board. Jim Hall helps support my position because he is saying that the age-21 law has done a lot and has shown positive results instead of the opposite effect that some people think this law may have. "In a given year, the majority of high school seniors drink, but only a small proportion are drinking heavily," Boston University School of Public Health scholar Ralph Hingson told the Associated Press. "On balance, they are supportive of the legislation that will reduce the risks to themselves." Ralph Hingson helps support my position because he is trying to say that since the drinking age is lower that less younger people drink heavily. He is trying to say that since the drinking age legally is 21 that it prevents many issues. Lastly, When age - 21 was challenged in Louisiana's State Supreme Court, the Court upheld the law, ruling that "... statues establishing the minimum drinking age at a higher level than the age of majority are not arbitrary because they substantially further the appropriate governmental purpose of improving highway safety, and thus are constitutional." This helps support my position because it shows that since the drinking age is 21 that there has been less accidents on the high ways and that there are less car accidents all together.

second strongest argument

My second strongest argument is the 21 drinking law causes people to drink less. This means that there are less accidents, deaths, and illnesses. There should be stricter enforcement of age 21 law against alcohol commercials. People who work in bars, liquor stores, and even parents and older siblings should be more aware of what they are doing if they hand their child alcohol or condone it. It is too easy to get alcohol these days and there aren't still penalties. Schools should better educate their students on the effects of alcohol and prevention-oriented laws to reduce commercial pressures on kids to drink. If people drink less they are more likely to be healthier and not get into trouble. There should be better educational programs and stronger enforcements and penalties.

strongest argument

My position has changed to keeping the drinking age at 21. This is because there are many more arguments i can use to support my side. The strongest arugmentis that the 21 age has been an effective means of saving lives. After the drinking age was decreased to 18 there are many more fatalities and deaths involved with alcohol. There was a decrease by 28% in deaths upon persons 18 to 21. There was a law made that had states raise the drinking age to 21 and states that didnt had hard time with funds and their high ways. This is my strongest arugment because when the drinking age was 18 there were many more injuries and deaths involving alcohol and now that the age is raised. Since the drinking age was raised to 21 it is said that there have been 846 deaths prevented in 1997 and prevented a totaly of 17359 deahts since 1975.

the side i choose

I would most likely agree with lowering the drinking age. i have selected this position because i believe that if it is lowered younger teens will not binge drink in their spare time and they can learn how to drink responsibly. I think that my strongest arguments will be that if 18 year olds can go to war that they should also be allowed to drink. I intend on convincing them by stating all the facts about how younger teens binge drink in secret because they cant get alcohol on their own and if they were allowed to drink that they could be supervised and learn to drink responsible instead of doing it in secret. My concerns are that i might not have enough information to support the side that i have chosen.

con side

Many people disagree with lowering the drinking age and think that it will just cause more problems among young teens. They believe that young teens are immature and are not responsible enough to be drinking on their own. They believe that the people who are 18 will grow up to be alcoholics and abuse the privilege of being able to drink. It is also thought that lowering the drinking age will cause there to be other drug uses. Parents disagree with the lowering of the drinking age because they believe there will be more house parties, binge drinking, alcohol related problems and illnesses, and there will be many more drunk drivers on the road. Since we changed the drinking age to 21 there has been 27000 less deaths. This is a very controversial issue and too many people disagree will lowering the age. They want their kids to remain safe and be more mature when they start to drink.

Pro side

Drinking has been an issue for a very long time. Many people think that the drinking age should be lowered back to 18 because they believe that since young teenages can go to war and fight for their country, get married, raise a family, take out loans, and are legal that they should be able to drink. Many people believe that if we allow the drinking age to be lowered that we can monitor the younger who are just "learning" how to drink. People believe that there will be less binge drinking because teenagers will feel more free and open about drinking in more public places instead of in secret. Especially in college, there are many issues that have to do with drinking. Many of the older students buy the younger students alcohol which gets both parties in trouble with the law. And if both parties get caught the charges get put on their permanent record. Also, many people believe that younger teens will learn how to drink responsibly without getting sick. Many parents are "teaching" their kids how to drink responsibly in their homes by giving them one drink a week or a drink with dinner each night. Some people would like to see younger teens drinking and even assign provisional drinking licenses to 19 year olds. It is thought to be unfair to forbid college students and even 19 year olds the right to purchase and drink alcohol.

background on drinking

Drinking has been a very controversial issue for a very long time. Ever since the 1980's the drinking age was raised from 18 to 21. Many people think that 21 is a good age because it prevents alcohol abuse in young teens, drunk driving, and other drug abuse. Many think that this keeps teens safe and out of trouble. They think that younger teens under 21 are irresponsible and do not know how much to drink or when to stop and they get out of control and drink too much to the point where they get sick. People find that this is a good way to teach kids responsibility and shows them that they have to wait to drink. Many elders believe that when the drinking age was at 18 there were many more accidents, alcoholics, and other diseases and drug abuses that went along with drinking. Drinking has a huge impact on people making them do stupid things and impairing their ability to think and make the right decisions. It leaves them helpless and not in control of themselves.

Yet, others think that the drinking age should be lowered back to 18 because they believe that it is unfair to let 18 year olds go to war and fight for their country, be able to get married, be able to own a house, and are able to start a family, yet they aren't allowed to drink? Also, many people believe that if the drinking age was lowered back to 18 teens would not drink in secret or binge drink which leads to more trouble. They believe that if it was lowered it would lessen some of the drinking issues the law is experiencing with teens and college students today. Many students throw parties and get alcohol from older students illegally because they are not capable of purchasing it themselves. People believe that if we lowered the age we would be able to monitor everyone and watch how much they drink and have them drink in the open instead of in secret.