Lawmakers of New Hampshire are considering lowering the drinking age from 21 to 20. The bill to pass the law has been a reoccurring debate throughout the last few years.

Christopher Casko, an attorney for the Department of Safety, testified against this bill that would allow 20-year-olds to drink alcohol in private settings while still prohibiting them from buying it or consuming it in public until age 21. Casko fears that “it would make New Hampshire a retreat for 20-year-olds to come into the state and potentially purchase alcohol.”

Some people feel that it’s a setup for disaster while others ask if you can go into the military and die for your country then why can’t you have a beer?

The drinking age in New Hampshire being changed really does have a huge impact on not just surrounding states but Triton students too. Students that presently and potentially are going to college in New Hampshire will be affected by this law as well as 20 year olds who live in surrounding states that will flee to New Hampshire for their drinking time.

Many young adults look forward to their 21st birthday, because that’s the day they can have their first legal alcoholic drink.But in New Hampshire, Representative Dan Hynes is in support of the drinking age being lowered from 21 years old to 20.

“I think 20 is a reasonable lowering amount. 21, I think is just a ridiculously arbitrary amount, and if we look at how old you have to be to do certain things in this state; girls can marry at the age of 13, boys 14, drive at 16,” said Hynes.

“It would be nice if it was not held out till you’re 21,” Hynes added.(source taken from article at- http://nhpr.org/post/nh-lawmakers-consider-lowering-drinking-age-20#stream/0)

However, Police chiefs oppose the bill because they see it causing harm to young adults. “With a statute setting it so high, what happens is people binge drink in college,” he said. “I think we’re actually encouraging binge drinking, I think we’re encouraging alcohol problems,” Republican Representative John Burt of Goffstown argued.

Triton alumni, Shane Darcy is quite excited about this ongoing discussion of the legal drinking age. Darcy, who graduated in 2016, believes this will help New Hampshire attract tourists and new visitors.

“Well minors are already drinking every weekend, so it’s not really making that much of a difference in that sense. But it will make a difference with the amount of people going to New Hampshire to get their party on,” Darcy explains.

Senior Taylor Penniman who is both a part-time New Hampshire and Massachusetts resident agrees with Hynes that the drinking age should be lowered. “We can send 18-year-olds to die for our country, but they can’t go home and have a beer. I just think it’s insane.”

“I think people will get angry about it. There’s a lot of towns in New Hampshire with a lot of older people in elder communities who will probably think it’s inappropriate, but other than that I don’t see parents getting mad and I definitely don’t see kids getting mad,” Penniman said.

Peniman added that she doesn’t quite understand why they are trying so hard to try and lower the age when it’s only a year difference.