Should Minors be Allowed to Consume
Alcohol in Their Own Homes?
Olivia Sutter
Mrs. Biggers
English 10
Alcohol
is a substance deemed only for use in adults over the age of 21 in the State of
Idaho . Many other States have
expanded their laws to allow minors to consume alcohol within the confines of
their own home. Should this be changed in our state too? Many problems could
potentially arise if this was changed. It could be the cause of many accidents
and could be a factor in the creation of drunks at an early age.
I
believe in the unalienable rights spoken of in the Declaration of Independence
such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It may seem that by
allowing minors to drink you are giving them these rights. This is not so. By
allowing minors to consume harmful substances such as alcohol, you are putting
the general public in danger or, in other words, are infringing upon the rights
of all the citizens in our state.
The
question states that minors would only be able to consume alcohol in their own
homes. As a result of this you could understandably argue that it would not
harm the public because those under the influence would be contained. Do you
honestly believe that an intoxicated person is going to stay in one place, or
even know that they are not allowed to go somewhere?
An
option that would seem viable, without much thought, is forcing them to stay at
their homes. This idea presents an even larger issue. Who or what is there to
enforce this if it became law? Here is yet another way that the general
public's rights could be infringed. It is not right for Police Officers to
constantly be searching the public for intoxicated teens. It is not right for
the public to live in fear of their minors being taken at random to have their
BAC(Blood Alcohol Content) tested. It is not right for the Government to take
these measures. We do not want to create a dystopian society where we have a
law enforcement officer on every corner or, worse yet, a BAC testing device in
every home just to be able to open your front door.
By
making alcohol more available to minors we are encouraging them to drink more.
People who start drinking often lose a lot of their self control over the
matter, and will drink more and more. This law could potentially cause the
development of many under-age drunks. Alcoholics are already a burden on
society. If thousands more of them are introduced in our state, it will wreak
havoc.
Studies
have shown that alcohol consumption significantly increases hormone levels in
women.(1) This, coupled
with the fact the alcohol is being consumed by minors who are already hormone
crazy is not a great way to help society at all. We do not need anymore
problems created because of our nation's immorality and this surely would
create a few.
Forty-eight
out of the fifty states in this country allow minors to consume alcohol in
their own homes. This fact should not sway us. Just because everyone else jumps
off a bridge does not mean that we need to! If we change our laws just because
of peer pressure we are no more mature than elementary school children.
If
we truly care about our society we will preserve it. We are not preserving it
when we are allowing-or even promoting-our youth to drink, even if it is in
their own homes. Our community is calling us to stand up and voice our opinion.
No! We will not accept this. No! We will not let our attempts for a healthy society
go down the drain. Yes! We will fight for our unalienable rights. Yes! We will
preserve freedom.
Sources
