The debate over whether legislators should allow people under 21 to drink is as absurd as a debate over whether people under 21 should allow legislators to drink, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoys the exercise of their inherent natural rights.
The government does not own the citizens. If this were a free country, the citizens would decide what to drink, water, wine or turpentine. The government would prohibit theft of property.
If we don’t put Dr. Ralph Hingson in prison, how do we know he won’t rape some little children? Should we just wait around until he does, and then punish him after the harm is done? The government has no right to deny innocent people their rights on the excuse that they might commit a crime.
Libertarians continue to demand the repeal of underage drinking laws. Liberty must prevail.
Let concerned citizens rely on methods not involving the coercive power of government against innocent people, such as photographing the alcohol poisoning patient being loaded into the ambulance. Photos like that can wake the person up, later, and break the denial. The government’s job is only to secure the rights of the people.
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