What do you think of a bill to give soldiers 18-20 all rights of any U.S. citizen?

Question

Currently i am working on a purposal bill that will give the soldiers in which fight for our rights, all rights of a U.S. citizen 21+. Therefore this does not ONLY include drink, however the right to carry a weopon (with a lisence of course), right to gamble at casinos, and the right to go to clubs. I figure if there are fighting for our rights they deserve our rights. If any of u have imput, or advice let me know.

Answer 1

I would say that all you will do is increase the drunk-driving death rate.

Besides - the military has been discouraging drinking for over 20 years. You could expect resistance from all of the leadership who have noticed that less alcohol = fewer problems.

Answer 2

I use to agree with you but from experience it is not a good idea I have seen how immature 18-20 year olds are in and out of the military they are the same. Some even older than that still shouldn't be allowed to drink and be allowed to carry a gun or gamble. I know a few 23, 24, 25, and 26 year olds that shouldn't be allowed to do any of them either. Them being in the military doesn't change their maturity, no matter what people say. And as for deserving the rights yes they deserve them in due time, not when they enter into the military. At our base 65% of DUI's for the base are people under 21.

By the way some states you can be 18 to go into clubs. Also in some states you if you are married to someone 21 or older and you aren't 21 you can drink in clubs, as long as your spouse is with you.

Answer 3

I have to agree with jacksmom. They will get those rights when they turn 21+ just like everyone else. I'm not saying I agree with the 21 minimum for drinking...I have been drinking since I was like 5 (red wine with dinner, just a few sips when I was real small, to get me used to having it, then increased over the years), and I think the minimum causes people to not take the time to teach children how to drink responsibly because they aren't allowed to drink at all. But anyway...

Just because they are soldiers, doesn't make them any different from other citizens. You can say 'they fight for our rights' all you want, but so do ambassadors, and police officers, and many others...just in different ways. Soldiers should portray the best of our country because they go overseas to other countries so much. Drinking by people under 21 who have not been taught responsible drinking (like many in the U.S.) can cause quite a scene and reflect poorly on the country. Soldiers have better things to do than gamble, I'm sure, and even 18 y/o's can go to clubs, just not the ones with bars or what not.

Soldiers are citizens of the United States just like everyone else. Yes, they have a dangerous job; yes, they 'fight for our rights'. But they are still citizens, and have to follow the same laws as everyone else. They are not 'above the law'.

Answer 4

I think it is as dumb as giving those rights to any immature 18 year old. Just because they are in the military does not mean they have better morals and will be able to think like a person older than they are. My husband is in the military and I have been a military wife for 6 years. Very soon to be 7. I see every day, young 18 and 19 year old soldiers, going out on the weekends, getting in wrecks with DUI's, getting girls pregnant because they are going off to war and think that they must do this before they leave. I see them dealing with the stresses of miltary life with alchoholism and the usage of drugs. They are immature in their thinking no matter what their job is. In fact, while my husband was in Iraq last year, a young 20 year old got his hands on some alchohol from somewhere and some drugs somehow, had a party in his room, complete with girls and sex (he and most of the other guys were married) then went to guard duty drunk and high as a kite. Ended up not reacting to a bomb that was thrown at the entrance gate by some insurgents, luckly for him noone was hurt, but the insurgents did get away. He had no clue it was even going on, and my husband who has 3 children was inside that compound relying on this guy (plus a couple others) to guard those gates. He put everyones life at risk. I agree not all young men are as iresponsible, but most are, so you have to go by majority. Another group here in Fort Huachuca, left their buddy laying in his own vomit outside, so they wouldn't get in trouble, come to find out he had alchohol poisoning and almost died, but they were underage and irresponsible.

Answer 5

Eh? I don't think that makes any sense. They get those rights when they are 21 just like every other American citizen. It could potentially motivate people to enlist if they could legally drink at 18, but I don't think people should drink at any age. It's a self-destructive habit. Just like gambling. =P

The soldiers have better things to do with their time, anyway. And, DUH, they carry weapons. They are in the military. They carry weapons all day long, some of them!

It's an interesting idea, though. But I doubt it will ever be passed.

Besides, right now, my husband would appreciate the right to eat wherever we wants (not allowed to order out) and actually live at home instead of in the barracks while he's in training. And go bowling--we love bowling, but they don't let him go to the bowling alley while he's in training. Can you work that in there, also?

Answer 6

great thats all we need is some teenage adult who just joined the service the right to drink, when i was in, thats all we had going to Rehab was 18-20 yrs who were drinking underage on base and getting into all kinds of trouble, yes i believe that if you sign the contract to join that you should be able to do things, but i seen a lot of immature sailors in my time and sometimes you wonder what kind of standards are we lowering for some of these people, for example i had a 20 yr old who had a checking account, he figured as long as he had checks he could write them, well needless to say he forgot to put money in the account to cover those checks and afterwards he had so many bouncing checks the senior enlisted had to confiscate his check book and send him to counseling, which means we lost a person while he was in mandatory counseling, i support all men and women that join but they also have to be mature, that hasnt happened to all of them yet

Answer 7

Check your Constitution... they get their FEDERAL rights (voting) on their 18th Birthday via the 26th Amendment... all the other rights you discuss are up to the "various states".

As a retired Naval Officer, I don't think we NEED any of these kids (YES, "KIDS") drinking, gambling, or going out to "clubs".

What I'd LIKE to see is the Navy reinstating GOOD clubs on-base AND providing other diversions. And I'd like to see the STATES providing the education regarding basic finances, contracts, and adult living.

Oh, and SPELLING (hint hint)

Answer 8

Actually willfrom_az, before you submit that bill of yours, you should learn how to spell simple English words, or you'll embarass yourself before whichever legislative body you intend to introduce this bill.

Proposal... not purposal
That fight for... not in which fight for
License... not lisence
You... not u
Weapon... not weopon
Input... not imput

Also an 18 to 20 year old in the U.S. Military, not only has the right to carry a weapon, he or she has already been trained in the use of that weapon, and will be issued a weapon when the need arises.

However well intentioned your proposal might be, you are simply too ignorant of the facts to draft this type of proposal. I suggest you educate yourself of those pertinent facts before proceeding further.

Answer 9

Cute, but no. You're right, they deserve the same rights as everyone else, and underage is underage....the same as all 18-20 year olds. It's a volunteer army. Their enlistment choice was not conditional on the ability to drink or gamble.

Answer 10

I do not think it is necessary. They volunteered in the first place with no expectations of being treated like they were 21. The things you are requesting are not in their best interests. Alcohol, gambling and carrying a weapon? What you should be seeking are health and education benefits. Lets try to help these people not hinder them.

Answer 11

Sorry, I can't agree with that. I used to, until my husband (who is US Army) and I got stationed in Germany. Here, soldiers 18-20 can drink, gamble, and go to clubs. The majority of them are single, and they do NOTHING but get in trouble. I can't tell you how many times my husband (who is an NCO) has had to bail one of them (or several of them) out of jail because they decided to get drunk and stupid.
Most of the ones OVER 21 have calmed down, but many of the soldiers under 21 are horrible. They have no respect for authority, they stay out drinking until 3 in the morning on weeknights, and show up at the 5:50 AM formation still drunk. They get into car accidents. They get stranded at train stations well outside of where they're supposed to be. They get into fights at the barracks, which result in them getting arrested. They beat up German taxi drivers. A group of them got drunk and burned down one of this town's historic buildings. They do nothing but screw strippers, get drunk, and mouth back to their NCOs. They don't show up to CQ or staff duty. They don't keep their living quarters in order. They don't show up to formation on time. They try to call in sick, without going to sick call.
Give them the right to do this in the US? I think not.
Don't get me wrong, I admire them for serving their country, I really do. But they need to GROW UP. Waiting to drink until they're 21 is perfectly reasonable.