18 Means 18

http://timnerenz.com/content/18-means-18


It is wrong for the government to deny rights of seniors solely on the basis of their age; equally wrong for juniors, sophomores, and freshmen.

There is no principled reason to deny adults the right to choose for themselves whether to drink alcohol or not. This is a matter of personal preference and belief.

Rights aren’t rationed out like some annuity over time; we were endowed with all of them at birth. They are held in trust for us by our parents or guardians until we reach the age of consent, and the age of consent is 18.

The federal government imposed a drinking ban on 18-20 year-olds through an extortion scheme of the lowest kind in the 1980s. It required states to adopt a 21 year old drinking age or be cut off from federal highway funds. Age discrimination has been the policy of both the Democrats and the Republicans ever since.

Think for a moment what message this sends to our young adults. Their first interaction with their government as vested citizens is to have their rights taken away through an unconstitutional encroachment of the federal government over state sovereignty. Goodbye civics class; hello mob rule.

Liberty denied should not be the first consequence of citizenship. So this will be the first bill I introduce as Congressman from Wisconsin’s 2nd District – the Universal Age of Consent bill.

Now, before the blissfully inebriated students in section O at Camp Randall break into chants of “Tim, Not Tammy”, let me say this: don’t think I am a champion of 18-year-old drinking, because I’m not. I am a champion of 18-year-old Liberty. Don’t vote for me so you can drink; vote for me so you can choose for yourself how you will live.

And that is really what this all about; the idea that you don’t have to ask permission to live.

It is difficult to imagine now that we were once a nation that lived by that simple proposition. We were proudly independent; our demand of government was to be left alone, not to be taken care of. Our Declaration of Independence insisted upon the right of the individual to pursue happiness; not to be immunized from the consequences of our pursuits.

Libertarians believe that each of us has sole dominion over our persons and property, and that any voluntary exchange between individuals is just. We believe that any act of force or fraud that interferes with voluntary exchange is unjust, including prohibitions on adult alcohol purchases by the State.

Vote Libertarian. Vote for Tim, Not Tammy.


Tim Nerenz is the Libertarian Party Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 2nd District. To support Dr. Tim's campaign, please visit the campaign website at www.timnerenz.com.