- Anything Else -

Hell no!

Posted by: Luke Kuhn ( Utopian Anarchist Party, U$A ) on December 06, 1999 at 17:09:23:

In Reply to: Should the Florida Legislature change the legal driving age from 16 to 18. posted by Lauren on December 02, 1999 at 17:51:15:

: I am 14 years old and now I want to know what other people think about florida changing the age for leaglly driving. I think it would be bad if the changed the age because then 16 year olds would not be able to work as easily and would be very unhappy.

Hell no! This proposal is blatant discrimination against young people. I believe these laws restricting people who are biologically adults(NOT children!) are an outrage and must be stopped by any means necessary. If they pass this, a lot of people will simply use false birth certificates and claim to be 18(or 21 to beat the drinking age). Here in Maryland, that is how teenagers are beating graduated licensing(driver curfews and carpool prohibition).
The issue here is NOT the pros and cons of autos, but instead rather all should be able to enjoy the rights some have. I do NOT recognize the notion that "driving is a privilige" in a country where the government built superhighways and sewers and deliberately promoted suburban sprawl,making driving COMPULSORY for most people.
If you live in the city, consider yourself lucky and get a good road bike instead. If you live in the suburbs, you will probably want the bike(for times when there are too many pigs or when gas is too expensive,+short trips, and the car for longer trips. I own and use both a car and a road bike myself.(the roads in DC, by the way, are so bad I have seen some people using BMX bikes for deliveries, and suspension mountain bikes are common, but road bikes are still faster if treated right).
Whatever you decide, decide for yourself and DON"T let MADD and AAA decide for you with their current policy of supporting all new restrictions on youth. Yes, freedom means some people will die in accidents, but freedom has always had a price paid in blood-and it is not always shed in revolutionary warfare. I feel freedom is worth any price whatsoever. That's why I work with the Utopian Anarchist Party(www.overthrow.com)to oppose laws restricting young people. One of our biggest sucesses was crippling a 1993-1996 attempt by the Montgomery County, MD government to crack down on "underage" drinking. After two major battles and countless lesser actiona and one lawsuit, the "drawing the line on underage drinking" program was gutted and only the empty shell of the program survives.



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