Return Our Rights: 18,19,20

Our mission is to raise awareness among 18, 19, & 20 year olds to defend their rights to purchase & consume alcohol as adult, American consumers.

History of Drinking Regulations

For almost 40 years, most states voluntarily set their minimum drinking age law at 21. But at the height of the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, 29 states began lowering their drinking age to more closely align with the newly reduced military enlistment and voting age. And of those 29 states, no uniformity in age limits—drinking ages varied from 18 to 20.

The results of this "natural experiment" were fairly immediate. The decrease in the drinking age brought about an increase in alcohol traffic fatalities and injuries. So much so that, by 1983, 16 states voluntarily raised their drinking age back to 21—a move that brought about an immediate decrease in drinking and driving traffic fatalities incidents.

On July 17, 1984, President Reagan signed into law the Uniform Drinking Age Act mandating all states to adopt 21 as the legal drinking age within five years. By 1988, all states had set 21 as the minimum drinking age. However some states kept a lower drinking age, including Louisiana. Under the Napoleonic Code that rules Louisiana, it still allowed those who were 18 to consume alcohol. Basically, this meant that anyone who was 18 could still drink, and buy. And they did.

In 1984, the United States Congress passed legislation, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, withholding 10% of Federal-Aid Highway Act funds from states that did not adopt a minimum legal age of 21 for the purchase and possession of alcohol.

For more information visit: www.why21.org

European Philosophy

European countries exhibit lower to non-existent drinking ages. In Europe, the consensus is that when alcohol is not exiled into a corner of society, it is demystified, and therefore a less alluring vice. Teens growing up in Europe are no strangers to alcohol and therefore have no desire to abuse it. Basically, it is a difference of philosophy.

Resources:

For more information on how you can support the cause & raise awareness, please visit:
Sign a Petition to Lower the U.S. Legal Drinking Age
National Youth Rights Association
www.why21.org

Sponsored by:

A new film by Mouton Productions reflecting
on 1979 New Orleans & a not-so-long ago time
of "Minimum Drinking Age 18."