Birthdays and Legalities.

[Tasha--Nethilia]

Thanks for all the birthday greetings...would have
replied sooner but I spent most of Mon at school and
all of Tues at work. 

> On the subject of legality, what do people think
> about these "minimum legal age" issues?  What do
> people think of the 21yo drinking age in the US (is
> it all states or only some?)?  Here in Australia
> it's 18.  The legal driving age in Victoria is 18 as
> well, though it's younger in New South Wales and
> South Australia (when I moved to Adelaide for a few
> years at 17, I was struck by the difference in
> lifestyle afforded by the fact that you could get a
> driving licence at 16.5 there then).  Then there's
> the hairier one (!) of the ol' "age of consent".  16
> in Australia, and also in the UK, I believe. 
> Variable between states in the US, I think.  What
> really gave me pause for thought was the news that
> the age of consent is 14 in Germany, especially as I
> soon after saw a double feature of "Pretty Baby"
> followed by "Lolita" (which was a very interesting
> combination, given how much much more explicit the
> former is - shows a real shift in public thinking
> since the early 80s).
> 
> Tabouli.

Yes, legalities. I don't see why they separate all
other legalities from drinking; at 18 you can legally
get married in every state, sign binding contracts, be
sued, ect. but you can't sip a little wine. Meh,
that's America, I guess. 
Rachel: 
> My thought about having to be 21 to drink in the US
> is 
> this:
> 
> If I am allowed to drive a car at 16 (15 1/2
> actually, 
> counting driver's education classes) and I can vote
> when 
> I'm 18 AND go to war in my country's military when
> I'm 18,  
> then I should be allowed to drink much earlier than
> 21.
> 
> But that's just me.

My sentiments exactly. 
> LOL, Rachel!  I remember being rather peeved at 16
> when I discovered 
> that I was paying taxes out of my paycheck before I
> was old enough to 
> vote on what the government was going to do with the
> money.  But 
> mostly, I just wanted my money back.

XD! Same here. Then I found out that if you're a legal
dependent of someone else, the government has to give
you all that back when you file =D. 


> 
> The "age of consent" in the US also varies by state.
> 
> In Wisconsin it is 18...which leads to very
> interesting legal prediciments when an 18-year-old
> high school senior gets caught with a partner who is
> not yet 18.  

About Age of consent *sweatdrop* My boyfriend is 4
years younger than me. However, his parents think I'm
a very nice person and don't mind that I'm older, and
I believe that the parents have to prosecute. So I
think I'm safe. We've been together since he was 15,
and his parents knew about me then. So they must not
have too much of a problem (Then again, his parents
are separate in age by over 20 years, so...) 

> On to the legal drinking age...in the US, it is
> technically determined by the individual state, but
> the government strongly encouraged (by means of
> extra
> funding) states to choose the age of 21.  As far as
> I
> know, all the states in the union have 21 as their
> legal drinking age.  This change happened not too
> long
> ago (30 years ago, my parents were allowed to drink
> at
> age 18.)  One of the reasonings behind the older
> drinking age was that it reduced drunk driving
> accidents.  It did reduce accidents, which is why
> the
> law will probably not change anytime soon.  However,
> the law doesn't stop many young people from drinking
> before the age of 21.  Especially on my college
> campus, it's pretty easy for young people to either
> obtain a fake I.D. or to get an older person to
> purchase alcohol for them.  I guess my feelings on
> this reflect the opinion of many my age...if I'm old
> enough to vote, and old enough to die for my
> country,
> I should be old enough to purchase and drink a
> beer...alas it is not so!


There is a point on the accidents and things. But The
thing is, in America, liquor is not seen as a drink
simply to drink and enjoy, like in other countries. In
America, most of the time people drink in order to get
plastered. So....

--Neth (Who only drinks cause she likes the taste of
wine coolers and hard lemonade) 


=====
--Nethilia de Lobo--
79% obsessed with Harry Potter
Wand: Dragon Heartstring, Ash, 7 inches
**Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.**

http://www.geocities.com/spenecial
Spenecial.com. Two girls. One Website. Total Chaos.

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