Quote:
Lawmaker wants lower soldier drinking age
By JR ROSS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MADISON, Wis. -- One Wisconsin lawmaker figures if the U.S. military trusts 19-year-olds with a $10 million tank, then the state should trust them with a beer.
State Rep. Mark Pettis, a Republican who served in the Navy, is pushing a bill that would drop the drinking age to 19 for Wisconsin soldiers - but only if the federal government agrees it will not yank an estimated $50 million a year in highway aid.
A federal law ties federal highway dollars to compliance by the states with the required drinking age of 21.
"We're treating these young men and women as adults when they're at war. But we treat them like teenagers when they're here in the states," he said.
Pettis admits his proposal will be a tough sell unless Wisconsin gets the federal government's approval - or at least permission to start a pilot program to prove it will not cause more accidents or other problems opponents associate with a younger drinking age.
Wisconsin transportation officials say the federal government has told them there is no process to apply for a waiver from the drinking age requirement, and creating one would likely take an act of Congress.
The bill would create an exemption for 19- and 20-year-old soldiers from Wisconsin - but not for soldiers from out of state. A valid military ID along with a Wisconsin driver's license or identification card would be required.
A committee is expected to send the bill to the full Assembly for consideration next week, and Gov. Jim Doyle has said he supports it - as long as Wisconsin does not lose any federal highway money.
The Wisconsin chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving has lobbied against the bill. Its executive director, Kari Kinnard, said statistics show there have been fewer highway fatalities, injuries and other problems associated with alcohol since the mandatory minimum went into effect in the 1980s.
She also said research shows the brain has not fully developed until people reach age 21. "It's for their own protection," Kinnard said.
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It's about fucking time someone tried to do this. It is ridiculous that people who are trained to kill for our country aren't allowed to drink. As usual, we can count on some stupid cunt from MADD to try to throw cold water on the idea with stupid statements.
This is educational for any of you who don't understand why they are talking about the highway money. Here's how the scam works, there is a federal tax on gasoline, I think it's like 25 cents per gallon but don't quote me on that, which goes to Washington, then they distribute it back to the states for highway maintenance. Since it would be a violation of the 10th ammendment to make a federal law to establish a national drinking age of 21, they did it with a sneaky form of blackmail. They witheld the highway funds to any state that refused to change their state laws about the drinking age. It's like someone holding a gun to your head, taking your money, then saying "Do what I want and I'll give you YOUR money back."
It's a particularly obnoxious form of govenment coersion, that I hope will be reversed soon.
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