History and Exceptions
the exceptions to the 21 law for the consumption of alcohol as of January 1, 2011
The minimum legal drinking age had been changed several times before president Ronald Regan finally signed The 21 Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984. When the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution repealed Prohibition in 1933, most states set a minimum legal drinking age of 21 years. The law began to change in the 1970s when many states lowered the minimum legal drinking age along with reducing the minimum age to vote during the Vietnam War. And of those 29 states, drinking ages varied from 18 to 20 and sometimes even varied based on the type of alcohol being consumed, for example, 18 for beer while 20 for liquor. However, it turned out that the outcomes were not good at all. Drunk driving crashes and alcohol-related fatalities increased significantly in those states, as well young people tended to drive to a state with a lower drinking age so traffic accidents happened frequently when they returned on the way home. As a result, all 50 states had legislated legal age 21. (Engs) before the minimum age was set to 21, there was a growing number of fatal accidents mainly involved in the 18-20 age groups. The dangerous effect of getting drunk in teens is not just those traffic crashes; also some alcohol-involved suicide and murder happened. When the MLDA 21 was established, the unintentional mortality related to alcohol was sharply decreased to 28% in some states. And since the 21 law was widely enacted, by the end of 2005, the 21 drinking age had saved nearly 25,000 American lives, which means approximately 1,000 lives a year.
PCDD, which stands for Presidential Commission Against Drunk Driving, was another document signed by President Reagan on 1982. This commission established 39 recommendations to “curb what was perceived to be a drunken driving epidemic.” The purpose of PCDD is reducing the number of alcohol-related deaths on the nation’s highways. Recommendation No.9 concerned the minimum legal purchasing age, and said all states should raise MLDA to 21, in case they lose a certain percentage of federal highway dollars. As a result, the exclusive interest in raising the drinking age marginalized the effect of other recommendations, such as establish a massive public information campaign, to increase penalties for convicted drunken drivers. (History)
In fact, the MLDA 21 has been evaluated as one of the most effective public safety laws ever passed. It is also one of the nation’s most examined laws with countless studies that been treated as criteria of laws.— all of which have come to the same conclusion: the law saves lives.
This map shows the exceptions to the 21 law for the consumption of alcohol as of January 1, 2011
Many states exceptions of drinking age criteria. For example, some states allow exceptions of consumption when a family member consents and/or is present. Some states allow an exception of consumption on private property. States vary in the extent of the private property exception. The private property may include private locations, private residences only, or in the home of a parent or guardian only. Some states allow exceptions for educational purposes, such as in culinary schools, and for religious purposes or medical purposes. (Alcohol Problem and Solutions)
A majority of states take advantages of these exceptions. For instance, “30 states currently allow parents to provide their children with alcohol in the privacy of their own homes. But in the remaining 20, parents are barred from providing their children with alcohol until the child’s 21st birthday.” (Chooseresonsibility)
PCDD, which stands for Presidential Commission Against Drunk Driving, was another document signed by President Reagan on 1982. This commission established 39 recommendations to “curb what was perceived to be a drunken driving epidemic.” The purpose of PCDD is reducing the number of alcohol-related deaths on the nation’s highways. Recommendation No.9 concerned the minimum legal purchasing age, and said all states should raise MLDA to 21, in case they lose a certain percentage of federal highway dollars. As a result, the exclusive interest in raising the drinking age marginalized the effect of other recommendations, such as establish a massive public information campaign, to increase penalties for convicted drunken drivers. (History)
In fact, the MLDA 21 has been evaluated as one of the most effective public safety laws ever passed. It is also one of the nation’s most examined laws with countless studies that been treated as criteria of laws.— all of which have come to the same conclusion: the law saves lives.
This map shows the exceptions to the 21 law for the consumption of alcohol as of January 1, 2011
Many states exceptions of drinking age criteria. For example, some states allow exceptions of consumption when a family member consents and/or is present. Some states allow an exception of consumption on private property. States vary in the extent of the private property exception. The private property may include private locations, private residences only, or in the home of a parent or guardian only. Some states allow exceptions for educational purposes, such as in culinary schools, and for religious purposes or medical purposes. (Alcohol Problem and Solutions)
A majority of states take advantages of these exceptions. For instance, “30 states currently allow parents to provide their children with alcohol in the privacy of their own homes. But in the remaining 20, parents are barred from providing their children with alcohol until the child’s 21st birthday.” (Chooseresonsibility)