Posted on 05/23/2003 11:08:28 AM PDT by hsmomx3
A group took the first step today in trying to allow alcohol sales in Arizona beyond 1 in the morning.
A group led by a 19-year-old from Glendale filed an initiative petition seeking to ask voters to allow booze sales until 3 a.m.
Jim R. Lugo, leader of the petition drive, says the proposed "Last Call Act of 2004" would generate more tax revenue by allowing alcohol sales during times of brisk business.
Jan Blaser-Upchurch, state chairwoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, says the proposal is a bad idea because it would mean more drunken drivers on the road late at night.
Lugo says he is confident his group of 20 people would be able to get the 122,000 signatures of registered voters needed to put the issue on the ballot.
Blaser-Upchurch says she doesn't think the public would like the idea.
The 19-year-old says his group plans to circulate the petition at many places in Arizona, including bars.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
A 19 year-old is an adult.
But there are fewer other vehicles on the road at these hours, so the odds of a drunk killing an innocent person should drop. Otherwise, you'll be forcing the drunks to drive at hours when traffic is heavier ...
Why doesn't MADD come clean and admit they they are Prohibitionists? Their agenda is nothing more than neo-Prohibitionist incrimentalism.
To address both of your points. At 18 you are a legally recognized adult. 19 is old enough to serve and kill/be killed/maimed in the US Armed Services. It is old enough to buy a house and land, get married and raise a family. It is old enough to start/own a business and pay taxes. But, it not old enough to drink. I'm well past 19, but I think this is wrong.
Why is a 19 yr old involved? Well, let's commend him for working within the system! He's not launching protests, blocking streets and chanting outside your home. He's working within the system, and bringing what he feels is a legitimate concern to the public for a public vote. If only our elected leaders had this kind of thought process, the people would be in charge of the gov't, instead of the other way around.
The 18 years olds do not have the maturity to handle the stuff. They may have the intelligence but not the maturity.
Everything should be one age. Anything else is hypocracy.
I'm personally agnostic on whether the shut off time is 1 or 3 as I'm generally not a late nighter, but one argument I've often heard for extending the closing time (a cop I know holds this view BTW) is that it reduces last-call binge drinking and allows drinkers to slow it down before heading home. Of course, if one wants to maximize their stupor they'll just do it later, but I digress.
When the Blue Jays were playing for the World Series the last time Toronto Police quietly told many sports bars that they wouldn't be paying particularly close attention to closing times during games when the Jays had a chance to win the series. They were nervous about the possibility that tens of thousands of celebrating fans would all pour out of the bars after the game at closing time at the same time and cause chaos. They would rather have a steady trickle over a few hours that would be easier to manage. The local bar I was at kept serving until about 3:30 without incident, and the all night (actually all weekend) street party that ensued proceeded without any problems (violence, window smashing, etc) at all, except for one drunk kid that fell through a store window.
Gives another hour for certain standards to be lowered further about who you're willing to try and pick up...
I'd like to see the legal age raised to 70 -- then, after two sips, they just fall asleep.
Your comment (and the replies to it) just got me thinking. This silly age 21 drinking law has given us all the impression that those from the ages of 18-20 are still "kids."
When I turned 18 (all those years ago), it was a major big deal for me. It was the day I officially became an adult and it truly felt that way too. I was leaving home for good to go to Marine boot camp. The day that I turned 18, my father basically told me that I was my own man. No more curfews. No more asking permission to do anything. More importantly, I could walk down to the bank and open my own accounts. I could register to vote. I could rent my own apartment or buy my own car. I could work all the overtime I wanted any hour of the day. I could sign my name on a contract and it would actually be legally binding. It was a very good day for me and I remember clearly thinking that I had my entire life in front of me and that I could do whatever I wanted to do with it.
I think we've lost that feeling of independence in today's society. Due in large part to the drinking laws, adults between the ages of 18 and 20 are still considered "children" and it is very unusual to find adults of this age being totally responsible and out on their own. Thirty years ago, one would not be shocked by a 19-year-old petitioning to get laws changed. In fact, many 19-year-olds back then were already out on their own, some of them already married and raising families of their own.
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