Rhode Island House Bill 5603 proposes any person 18 years of age or older currently serving in the United States military may purchase and consume alcoholic beverages in the state.
State representatives Thomas Winfield, D-Glocester, Smithfield, Raymond Hull, D-Providence and Raymond Gallison, D-Portsmouth, Bristol introduced the bill in the Rhode Island General Assembly Feb. 27. The rationale behind the bill is that if a person is old enough to volunteer for the military, that person should also be allowed to choose to drink alcohol. While we agree the ages for military service eligibility and legal drinking should be one and the same, this legislation raises concerns about our society’s drinking culture by establishing alcohol consumption as a sign of maturity.
The United States has had a national drinking age of 21 since 1984, making it the only western nation with a drinking age above 20. One of the chief concerns that motivated lawmakers to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was the troubling trend of alcohol abuse by college students, with related concerns surrounding motor vehicle accidents and emergency room visits. The law is intended to bolster public safety by relying on a three-year age gap to distinguish between those considered mature enough to be thought of as adults and those who cannot physically or mentally handle alcohol consumption.
The problem with the drinking age is more about drinking culture than the age itself, which is somewhat arbitrary. At Brown, it seems easy to get away with underage drinking, with law violators often being allowed to pass freely when caught. But underage binge drinking represents a very real danger across almost all college campuses. This is why more than 100 college presidents are involved in the Amethyst Initiative, a movement launched in 2008 that calls for the reconsideration of the legal drinking age. The movement asserts that the current drinking culture encourages underage individuals to abuse alcohol on campus, rather than to responsibly consume it. Yet the Rhode Island General Assembly is considering enacting legislation that distinguishes between the underage people who serve in the military and those who attend college.
Serving in the armed forces is a sacrifice more than 1 million Americans are currently making. Those who serve are required to put their lives at risk in the line of duty. Electing to serve in the armed forces is certainly graver than choosing to drink an alcoholic beverage — and anyone who can volunteer for such a commitment should be allowed to consume such a beverage. But lowering the drinking age solely for those who serve implies a discrepancy in maturity between them and civilians — which in turn encourages young civilians to drink in order to establish their entries into adulthood.
Our government has a strong history of trying to give back to service members and veterans, through measures such as subsidized housing and the GI Bill. House Bill 5603 is another gesture from our government to the military — but it is has dangerous implications for our country’s drinking culture.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Dan Jeon, and its members, Mintaka Angell, Samuel Choi, Nicholas Morley and Rachel Occhiogrosso. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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