Kherz’den Humphrey
Reporter
The age of adulthood switches from 18 to 21 in many circumstances. Some of those being, gun control, alcohol consumption and hotel rentals. What I always wonder is why?
The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits licensed arms deals from selling “handguns” to anyone under the age of 21. However “long guns” can be purchased at age 18. Although, any unlicensed dealer, such as someone at a conventional gun show, can potentially sell to anyone.
This may not seem odd because “long guns” are typically rifles or bb guns used for hunting, where people only need to be 16 for a license. However, this allowed a 19-year-old boy in Florida to legally buy an AR-15, resulting in a mass school shooting. All guns are considered “deadly weapons” so why switch the purchasing age according to size and type?
Until 1984, the legal drinking age was 18, so why did it change? According to the CDC it was because of the correlation between drinking under 21 and alcohol poisoning, car crashes and unintentional injuries. Who’s to say these things are only related to drinking before age 21 rather than related to general consumption of the alcohol?
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed as a condition to receive state highway funds. A federal regulation excludes religious purpose, parent accompaniment, prescription, and private establishments from its definition of “public possession”. So if drinking under 21 can be considered legal under these circumstances, why not all?
Lastly, the majority of hotels require people to be 21 to rent a room but only 18 to stay in one alone. Now this was odd to me because if an 18-year-old can stay in the room alone, why can’t they rent it themselves?
Many hotels say that it is for insurance purposes; however at 18 people can get homeowners insurance and rent an apartment or even a home. Why is there an issue with being 18 in hotel insurance and not home insurance?
As an 18 year old, people can legally vote, serve on a jury, join the military, rent an apartment or house, buy a car, get a loan and alter their body with piercings, tattoos and even surgery. Yet they are unable to buy a handgun, legally drink publicly, and rent a hotel room.
If there is going to be a legal age of adulthood, it should be one age across the board. It is arbitrary to say that 18 is adult enough for most things, but is too young and immature for others.
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