Don’t Attack Drunk Driving With Underage Drinking Laws

To the Editor:

In response to “Losing Sleep Over The Safety Of Children” [Editorial Inkdrops, 10/6/06] let me mention that the way to cut down on drunk driving is to cut down on drunk driving, not to violate the rights of innocent people who drink responsibly.

There are few things more innocent in this world than a bunch of teenagers throwing a high school graduation kegger. They’re not violating anybody’s rights. The government has no right to wield a police force as a weapon of unprovoked violence against them.

The outvoted discrimination victims know very well what they’re up against. Enemies of liberty demand tougher underage drinking laws be imposed on somebody else, rather than tougher drunk driving laws be imposed on the enemies of liberty. Legislators imposing tougher drunk driving laws would pay a higher price, should they get caught.

Ask them to repeal the underage drinking laws, and they note the state would lose some federal highway construction money. They demand respect for a law imposed as a consequence of overt bribery.

If they want respect for their laws, they’ll get it when they make their laws respectable, and no sooner.

Tom Alciere

46 Pine Street, Nashua, NH                                        October 6, 2006