Proposed ballot initiative in California to gather enough signatures for lower minimum legal drinking age

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla confirmed the start of collection of signatures for a proposed ballot initiative regarding the lowering of the minimum legal drinking age to 18. Apparently, the state only allows those aged 21 and above to buy and drink liquor and alcoholic drinks.

According to MTV, Terrance Lynn, the proponent of the ballot, is given only until April 26, 2016 to collect enough signatures, which is a total of 365, 880. If he achieves this, the initiative will qualify for the November 2016 ballot wherein the Californians get to vote on it.

Lynn had first sent the proposal last August 23 to Attorney General Kamala Harris, which was shown by the office's website. From there, Lynn explained why he proposed the said initiative, which was due to having equal rights.

"Eighteen-year-olds have nearly every burden and privilege of adults...except the right to drink alcohol. This is a misguided aberration from 1984 that should be corrected," he added.

Indeed, it was still in 1984 when the bill that established the national minimum drinking age of 21 was passed. But KTLA reported that for the nonprofit Mothers Against Drunk Driving, nothing seems to be wrong with the existing minimum legal drinking age.

Their figures stated that since the legal drinking age has been raised to 21, more than 25,000 lives have been saved in the country. Before, when the legal drinking age was still lower, a lot of underage drinking problems were considered really bad. They stated that underage drunk drivers were involved in more than twice as many fatal traffic crashes as today.

US News even wrote that all states will lose some federal highway funds once the measure is approved that may amount to $200 million. This was from a fiscal impact assessment from state officials. There was not any exact projection for higher alcohol sales tax revenue.

Right now, all states prohibit providing liquor to anyone under 21. However, there are some limited exceptions like lawful employment, religious reasons or approval from a parent or guardian, for instance.

Tags

California, legal drinking age, 21 to 18 years old, Alex Padilla, Terrance Lynn, proposed ballot initiative, Mothers Against Drunk Driving

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