“But
group says 21 minimum drinking age has saved thousands of lives.”
You've heard it before, "Why can you
join the military at 18 but not drink?"
Well, one proposed California ballot initiative is looking to change the
drinking age. According to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the
initiative has been cleared to begin collecting signatures. If it gets enough signatures to qualify for
the November 2016 ballot, voters will have the opportunity to decide whether
18-year-olds will be able to legally purchase and drink alcohol in the state.
The legal drinking age is 21, which was established by the National Minimum
Drinking Age Act of 1984.
The proponent of the measure is business
owner Terrance Lynn, who must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered
voters to qualify, Padilla's office said in a statement. "The proponent has 180 days to
circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted
to county elections officials by April 26, 2016," the statement reads.
The Secretary of State's office said if
the ballot passed, California would lose $200 million in federal highway funds.
But it would also lead to an increase in state and local tax revenues from the
sales of alcohol beverages, the office said.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving opposes lowering the drinking age below
21. The organization says that more than 25,000 lives have been saved across
the United States since the minimum drinking age was raised to 21. "When
states had lower legal drinking ages in the U.S., the underage drinking problem
was worse. For example, before the 21
minimum legal drinking age was implemented by all states, underage drunk
drivers were involved in over twice as many fatal traffic crashes as
today," MADD's website says. It
said the law continues to decrease the number of crashes by an
estimated 16 percent each year.
"I
think it's fine at 21. I think if it was younger, maybe young adults may not
make the best choices," 20-year-old Michael Villagomez told KABC in Los
Angeles. "I think if we're able
to send people to war at 18, they should be able to determine if they can
handle alcohol," Burbank resident Lisa Neglia added. "I think 21 is a great age for drinking
because I feel like nowadays people think that just because they're older as in
16, 17 that they feel free to do whatever they want," 17-year-old Rakkell
Villagomez also told the station.
