Colorado state Senator, Greg Brophy (R), wishes to change the drinking laws in Colorado. He believes that parents should be allowed to buy alcohol for their adult children over the age of 18, something many conservatives are against despite it being a perfect example of the state trampling individual freedoms, which is the right’s most celebrated mantra.
The drinking age has always been decided at a state level. Up until Reagan’s presidency, the drinking age in many states was 18 years. Ronald Reagan illegally used extortion to force all states to raise the age to 21 or lose their federal highway funding. A decidedly un-Republican thing to do, but the GOP doesn’t protect individual freedoms as ardently as they protect corporate freedoms.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving has already spoken out by providing false data. According to Jan Withers, president of MADD, “When people under the age of 21 drink alcohol with their parents, they actually drink more frequently and in large quantities.” This is proven false easily, merely by looking at the rest of the world, something most Americans tend to forget exists.
Greg Brophy acknowledged the problem with current laws when he took his daughter out to dinner for her birthday. He wanted to order her a drink so they could share in a birthday toast, but the State of Colorado claimed to know what’s best for his adult daughter. He then saw the need for an exemption for parents, which many states already have in place. The Senator had this to say about the controversy involved:
“I recognize there may be people who don’t like it. But again, I have to ask - if you’re trusted to vote, if you’re trusted to carry a weapon in the service of your country, why can’t be trust you to buy a beer at the bar? Showing them a responsible way to consume alcohol is actually an important part of growing up.”
Colorado has been expediting its move toward preserving individual freedom and doing away with outdated laws only designed to control the populace. In November, they became one of the first 2 states, with Washington, to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, a controlled substance in the United States despite being all natural with no proven negative side-effects.
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