In the 1960s, student activism and opposition to the Vietnam War help bring about passage of the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1971. This amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years of age.
The recent tragic events involving gun ownership and the mass killings on school campuses have brought out that style of 1960s activism in today’s students. It is obvious to me from watching and reading new reports and seeing teenagers who are capable of holding news conferences, sitting down with the president of the United States and having discourse, organizing nationwide awareness to issues and meeting with our U.S senators, that today’s teenager has come a long way since 1971.
As a child of the ’60s, I see today’s teenager as being more involved in the community, more socially active and better educated. Today’s students are much more aware of the world around them and now carry with them at all times the device that helps keep them connected to issues. Though 21 states, including Connecticut, do allow 17-year-olds the right to vote in primaries and caucuses, it is time to extend full voting rights at all levels of government nationwide to our 17-year-olds.
Armand Johnson, Coventry