Alaska Law Would Allow Military to Drink at Age 18

Juneau, Alaska (AP) – Alaska is the latest state to weigh in on a long-running argument: If you’re old enough to fight and die for your country, you should be old enough to drink a beer.

An Alaska lawmaker who served in Vietnam is pushing a bill that would allow active-duty service members under 21 to drink alcohol as long as they could produce an armed forces identification card. Those under 19 – Alaska’s smoking age – would be allowed to buy tobacco products.

Rep. Bob Lynn says the bill is about equality. If you can get shot at, you can drink a shot, he says.

But military commanders who oversee soldiers based in Alaska are against the bill. They say it would tempt young soldiers and lead to more drunken driving arrests.

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