Letter to Casper Star-Tribune
TomAl...@tomalciere.com
Alcohol laws persecute minors
Editor:
Let me respond to the Casper Star-Tribune article, "Alcohol facts sober
officials," Oct. 25.
If the state Legislature wanted respect for the laws, they should have
made the laws respectable. Convicted felons on parole are forbidden to
drink, because of the crimes they chose to commit, but innocent
citizens under the age of 21 are forbidden to drink, because of crimes
somebody else committed.
Just because the legislators don't approve of underage drinking,
doesn't give them the right to attack underage drinkers by means of a
knife, a bat or a police force.
Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal said, "Parents need to stand
behind the law enforcement officers doing their job, whether it is
their child involved or someone else. That is a huge deterrent to
alcohol use by minors."
I don't want gun-toting goons in bulletproof vests grabbing any kids,
handcuffing them, forcing them into patrol cars against their will and
delivering them to the government's jail just because of the beverages
they chose to drink. In a free country, the citizens decide what to
drink, and parents regulate their children living under their roofs.
Libertarians continue to demand the repeal of underage drinking
restrictions.
I have a dream that my two children will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the date of their birth but by the content
of their character.
TOM ALCIERE, Nashua, N.H.