This letter is in response to Deborah C. Gumpper’s letter to the editor (“Decision Is Needed on What Constitutes an Adult in New Jersey”) in the Dec. 17, 2008 issue of the News Transcript. Ms. Gumpper pointed out some of the legal inconsistencies in using 21 as the legal age for alcohol consumption while using 18 as the legal age for voting, military service and other societal responsibilities.
However, notwithstanding Ms. Gumpper’s thoughtful analysis, while there might be valid arguments why the drinking age of 21 should, or should not, be lowered, the fact that it is inconsistent with other statutory age requirements is not necessarily one of them.
Our society’s statutes and regulations are replete with a variety of age limits and restrictions. For example, you can vote in a congressional election when you’re 18, but if you want to run for the House of Representatives, the U.S. Constitution says that you’ll have to wait until you’re 25.
If you have your eye on a U.S. Senate seat, don’t bother applying until you’re 30, and if you decide to run for president of the United States, you’d better be 35 years old by Inauguration Day. Should it be argued that 18-year-olds should also be allowed to run for Congress or the presidency because they’re old enough to die for our country?
New Jersey’s Constitution is only slightly more liberal, requiring that members of the Assembly be at least 21, while senators and the governor must be 30. Clearly, 18- year-olds in New Jersey can decide who their state representatives will be, but cannot themselves be such representatives.
You might be old enough to carry a rifle into battle when you’re 18, but you can’t drive a school bus in New Jersey until you’re 21. Want to become a private detective? You can’t get a license until you’re 25.
The point is that 18 isn’t the “magic number” at which all rights and privileges of adulthood are bestowed. Becoming an adult is a process whereby children gradually assume responsibility for themselves, their actions and their own well being.
Unfortunately, society has yet to devise a foolproof method for determiningwhen a person has passed the maturity threshold, so we rely on surrogates like “age,” and we use different ages for different rights, different duties and different privileges.
While it might appear arbitrary to have this panoply of age requirements, choosing a single, all-encompassing age and declaring it to be the sole measurement of adulthood for all of life’s rights, duties and privileges would be far more arbitrary.
The issue of whether the drinking age should be 21 or 18 or any other number should be debated on whether persons of the age being proposed are considered mature enough to handle that particular responsibility. It should not be linked to the age requirement of any other unrelated societal right, duty or privilege.
Mark Presser
Manalapan

