Buying Alcohol For Underage Kids

[TomCat84]

To up-date you, I did buy a drink for a stranger who was under 21 whilst on vacation in the states, he was a brit and just returned from Iraq, it amazed me at the time that he is old enough to drive a car go and fight a war, put his life on the line, but can't buy a beer!

Agreed. Though many people would say this is faulty logic- I categorically deny that assertion. It's perfectly logical. Usually in the states the 21+ limit is presented with the argument that it saves lives- in effect, it reduces the amount of people killed in circumstances that involve alcohol consumption (whether that be while driving, beating your wife, etc). But if that's the case, why don't we just raise the drinking age to 30? Or ban it altogether again?

 

[mitchymo]

I wonder how many of you who have children would or do buy alcohol for children under the age of 21.

the woman that rents my cottage has a 20 year old son and all of his friends are in the same age range, give or take a couple of years. the mother of this kid's friend spent $200 for booze so the kids could have a party. all of them turned in their keys so no driving would happen happen after the drinking.

my parents' house was a veritable world class bar so there was no need to ever seek out alcohol while i was under 21. same thing with all my friends. all our parents knew that the kids drank and as long as we were responsible, then no problem.

but i can't imagine deliberately supplying underage kids alcohol. what say you?

I would'nt consider anyone over the age of 16 to be a child, so i think the age should be lowered to 16. (in UK)

 

[TomCat84]

I would'nt consider anyone over the age of 16 to be a child, so i think the age should be lowered to 16. (in UK)

Oh hell no. I know I wouldn't want to be in a club or bar with some stupid little teenagers ruining the place.

 

[mitchymo]

Oh hell no. I know I wouldn't want to be in a club or bar with some stupid little teenagers ruining the place.

I get where you're coming from, true.

Although stupidity doesn't have age limitations.

 

[joe bltsflk]

Hey, the legal ramifications of supplying alcohol to legal drinkers is bad enough. Knowingly (or even unknowingly) supplying someone underage is just asking for it. Remember, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Telling the judge "I didn't think anything bad would happen" should double your sentence. Then there's the civil suit, which you will lose...

 

[freyasworld]

here's something from the UK government website

Guidance from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) advises parents and children that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option. If children drink alcohol, it should not be until they are at least 15 years old.
It’s illegal to:

• give alcohol to children under five
• buy alcohol on behalf of anyone under the age of 18

Government guidance

The CMO provides impartial health advice to the government and the public, and has provided the following guidance to help parents making decisions about their children and alcohol.

• An alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest and best option.
• If children do drink alcohol, they should not do so until they’re at least 15 years old.
• Drinking alcohol can damage a child's health, even if they’re 15 or older.
• If 15 to 17 year olds drink alcohol, it should be rarely, and never more than once a week. They should always be supervised by a parent or carer.
• If 15 to 17 year olds drink alcohol, they should never exceed the recommended adult daily limits (3-4 units of alcohol for men and 2-3 units for women). One unit of alcohol is about half a pint of beer or ordinary lager or a single measure of spirits (25ml).

 

[Bbucko]

To up-date you, I did buy a drink for a stranger who was under 21 whilst on vacation in the states, he was a brit and just returned from Iraq, it amazed me at the time that he is old enough to drive a car go and fight a war, put his life on the line, but can't buy a beer!

That was precisely the argument used in the Vietnam era that lowered it from 21 to 18.

Technically, drinking ages are the responsibility of each individual state to raise or lower as they see fit, but strong pressure (about which I should study more as I cannot cite specifics) from the feds in the late 70s meant that the age was changed back to 21 by the early 80s.

I was born in 1960. When I was 18, the drinking age was 18; when I was 19, Massachusetts instituted a strange system to raise it back to 21 in steps. Although I worked at a disco in Boston at the time, I wasn't allowed to drink or even hang out when not working because of my age. And although my job there was secure, I couldn't leave it and work for a different bar even if I wanted to. I was legal again at 20 (?!) and it stayed that way, though people one year my junior had to wait until they were 21, where it's stayed ever since.

This post has prompted me into doing more research on which forces worked so strongly and uniformly as to raise the drinking age in virtually every state within two years. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...

 

[Lex]

I wouldn't do it. There are, however, may who do so. Growing up in the city, it was rather easy to find someone standing outside the bar to buy beer for us (before my older, yet still under-aged friends looked old enough to buy).

 

[Deno]

I wouldn't be against lowering the drinking age but I do like the gap between a 16 year old driver and him getting 5 years experience behind the wheel before he is allowed to drink. I also agree that no one near the age of 21 can be considered a kid or a child.

 

[Deno]

Oh yeah, I just lost my job for selling cigs to a man nearly 30 years old all because I didn't ask him for his I.D. Believe that. Kroger can suck my balls.

 

[B_dxjnorto]

Man, you should fight that in this economy. Wrongful termination. He was of age!