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A 16 year old was effectively an adult not so long ago. Today, an 18 year old is a child. We should just move the age of majority to 24 or so. Guns and voting

A 16 year old was effectively an adult not so long ago. Today, an 18 year old is a child. We should just move the age of majority to 24 or so. Guns and voting would start there. Vices and contracts would be some sliding scale.

LoveGracePeace 4y ago
Agree. In the US today... A 16 year old can be licenced to drive a car which is a potentially deadly killing machine. A 17 year old can join the US Military today, use firearms, fight and die for their country and if needed; kill their own countrymen if politicians deem some citizens are a threat. An 18 year old can vote and determine who should run the country then they go back to watching TickTok 24/7. A 17 year old cannot have a beer. There is something wrong with all of that, today driving a car, voting and entering the military should all be the age that is required to legally buy a beer.
EugeneOZ 4y ago
24th birthday doesn't make a person wise automatically. Psychological tests are needed for gun buyers.
- chmod600 4y ago
  The perfect is the enemy of the good. 24 is 6 extra years of maturing. That will save a lot of lives (not just mass shootings, but gang violence and suicides). And 24 better reflects reality in terms of adulthood. Not only that, but it's palatable politically. As long as it goes with voting age and other rights, then gun owners are more likely to go along with it. Make some exceptions that work for young hunters, and people won't feel left out. If anything, it's likely to see pushback from the left because they want lots of people voting from a young age. But I don't think the overall electoral decisions will be any worse by making people wait 6 more years. The left will just adapt and move on (e.g. more focus on struggling families and less on cultural/identity issues).
- pengaru 4y ago
  25 is widely accepted as approximately the age for full brain development, on average. It's part of why car insurance rates tend to drop around 25.
  - EugeneOZ 4y ago
    My point is that a 35-year-old person might have mental issues, that's why I’m saying that it should be checked.
- nradov 4y ago
  Which psychological tests specifically? In general there is no test that can reliably quantify an individual's propensity toward violence.
watwut 4y ago
> A 16 year old was effectively an adult not so long ago. Today, an 18 year old is a child. I ask genuinely - when exactly and where? Voting age was lowered in 1971 to 18, it used to be higher.

LoveGracePeace 4y ago

Agree. In the US today... A 16 year old can be licenced to drive a car which is a potentially deadly killing machine. A 17 year old can join the US Military today, use firearms, fight and die for their country and if needed; kill their own countrymen if politicians deem some citizens are a threat. An 18 year old can vote and determine who should run the country then they go back to watching TickTok 24/7. A 17 year old cannot have a beer. There is something wrong with all of that, today driving a car, voting and entering the military should all be the age that is required to legally buy a beer.

EugeneOZ 4y ago

24th birthday doesn't make a person wise automatically. Psychological tests are needed for gun buyers.

chmod600 4y ago
The perfect is the enemy of the good. 24 is 6 extra years of maturing. That will save a lot of lives (not just mass shootings, but gang violence and suicides). And 24 better reflects reality in terms of adulthood. Not only that, but it's palatable politically. As long as it goes with voting age and other rights, then gun owners are more likely to go along with it. Make some exceptions that work for young hunters, and people won't feel left out. If anything, it's likely to see pushback from the left because they want lots of people voting from a young age. But I don't think the overall electoral decisions will be any worse by making people wait 6 more years. The left will just adapt and move on (e.g. more focus on struggling families and less on cultural/identity issues).
pengaru 4y ago
25 is widely accepted as approximately the age for full brain development, on average. It's part of why car insurance rates tend to drop around 25.
- EugeneOZ 4y ago
  My point is that a 35-year-old person might have mental issues, that's why I’m saying that it should be checked.
nradov 4y ago
Which psychological tests specifically? In general there is no test that can reliably quantify an individual's propensity toward violence.

watwut 4y ago

> A 16 year old was effectively an adult not so long ago. Today, an 18 year old is a child. I ask genuinely - when exactly and where? Voting age was lowered in 1971 to 18, it used to be higher.