Federal Judge rules 18-20 can buy handguns

[JAL]

I recall drinking age changing in most States was in and around 1984, believe the Feds held up highway funding with States that didn't comply.
I was 18 in 1976.
With one being 18 you could drink all alcohol, beer wine or liquor in Md up to 1982.

Drinking age was dropped almost universally across the country from 21 to 18 or 19 circa 1970-1972, about the same time as Federal voting age. Drinking age didn't drop in a handful of states, just most of them. It was in the era of growing and increasingly violent Vietnam War protests. Drinking age on military installations in the Enlisted, NCO and Officer Clubs has been 18 as long as I can remember.

Regarding voting age, South Dakota Senator George McGovern leveraged on 18 year olds being able to vote in the 1972 presidential election during the Democratic Primaries. Huge campaign effort on college and university campuses for him. Got him the nomination, but it wasn't enough to prevent the massive landslide in the general election. As a trivia point, his nomination is the reason the Democratic Party has "Super Delegates" now -- to prevent another unelectable grassroots candidate. Use of that emerged in the 2016 primary to torpedo Bernie Sanders, among other shenanigans.

The rationale circa 1970-1972:
If someone can be drafted, and sent to the Jungle Paradise to die for their country against their will, they can vote and drink. There was also some thought it might assuage and blunt the magnitude of some of the protests. The Kent State "massacre" occurred in 1970.

It went back up again in many if not most states during the era you remember. I remember when Arizona and California raised it to 21 again. It was a Big Deal for those caught in the 18-20 gap.

 

[Creedmoor]

Drinking age was dropped almost universally across the country from 21 to 18 or 19 circa 1970-1972, about the same time as Federal voting age. Drinking age didn't drop in a handful of states, just most of them. It was in the era of growing and increasingly violent Vietnam War protests. Drinking age on military installations in the Enlisted, NCO and Officer Clubs has been 18 as long as I can remember.

Regarding voting age, South Dakota Senator George McGovern leveraged on 18 year olds being able to vote in the 1972 presidential election during the Democratic Primaries. Huge campaign effort on college and university campuses for him. Got him the nomination, but it wasn't enough to prevent the massive landslide in the general election. As a trivia point, his nomination is the reason the Democratic Party has "Super Delegates" now -- to prevent another unelectable grassroots candidate. Use of that emerged in the 2016 primary to torpedo Bernie Sanders, among other shenanigans.

The rationale circa 1970-1972:
If someone can be drafted, and sent to the Jungle Paradise to die for their country against their will, they can vote and drink. There was also some thought it might assuage and blunt the magnitude of some of the protests. The Kent State "massacre" occurred in 1970.

It went back up again in many if not most states during the era you remember. I remember when Arizona and California raised it to 21 again. It was a Big Deal for those caught in the 18-20 gap.

I recall most of it, we spent many weekends as kids down on the DC mall and surrounding areas watching the protests.
Abd the pluses of that bra free period with halter and tube tops, sundresses and so on.
My older brother was drafted.
Its been interesting with my sons and there travels in and out of the Marine Corp.
Depending on what country they were deployed to and there age many places they could drink under 21.
Those laws are ridiculous.