Talk:Age of majority

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[edit] List of legal drinking ages?

Should we have a list here as on legal drinking age of the laws in various countries? --NormalAsylum 16:00, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Enlisting is adulthood?

I enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 17 with my parent's written consent. When I raised my right hand to be sworn in I was an emancipated minor and considered to be an adult in many ways. I still could not buy alcohol off base but could do so on-base. Though enlisting does not give all the rights of an adult I was in many ways an "official" adult. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.13.191.153 (talk • contribs) 22:22, 29 December 2006

In uganda 13 yearolds can join the millitary. Are they adults?
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.123.72.66 (talk • contribs) 12:38, 21 October 2007

[edit] rights in high school

many United States public high school state that a 18 year old being supported by there parents does not have the right to make there own educational decisions and still require parents to sign notes for absences etc. Does anyone have any hard data on this and its legality? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tjb891 (talk • contribs) 23:32, 5 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Iran

Iran isn't listed here, isn't the age of majority there 15????

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.93.220.68 (talk • contribs) 15:13, 25 March 2007

[edit] Age of majority for countries around the world

http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/

Got a ton of crap there.

But need confirmation on the Philippines:

This page says 18 http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaPhilippines.pdf

This one says 21 http://www.weddingsatwork.com/culture_laws_familycode10.shtml

—Preceding unsigned comment added by FartyFartyPoopyPants (talk • contribs) 08:31, 5 April 2007

[edit] Taiwan

The age of majority in Taiwan is 20, not 18. 218.171.249.157 11:25, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Source for the US

There's this eight-year-old PDF from the Defense Department, and this HTML version courtesy of Google. --Smack (talk) 05:28, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Venezuela

47? Is that a mistype. Should it be 14 instead (one row lower on the keypad)?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by SeaFox (talk • contribs) 18:29, 16 May 2007

[edit] Age of Majority: 14 in Wales??

For a start, Wales goes by English law, English law states 18, which England on here goes by. 14 is not the age of Majority in Wales and never was. 18 is the age of majority in Wales since January 1970, before that it was 21. Maybe in the future this might change with the new legal system put in place in Wales, but for the time being this is incorrect. 82.11.221.164 13:55, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure about that - I went to school in England and I'm sure I remember a talk from a policeman at about age 12 about approaching the age of criminal responsibility - i.e. majority - so 14 sounds about right, and E&W is the same legal system.  — superbfc [ talk | cont ] — 21:38, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
In Wales, like in England, the age of Majority is 18 since the Family Reform Act 1970. To add more, the age of Criminal responsibility in Wales, according to Welsh police, is 10. 82.11.221.164 01:59, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
In wales the age of majority is 14.
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.123.72.66 (talk • contribs) 12:40, 21 October 2007

Here is an official source [1] which states that the age of majority in England and Wales is 18. Robina Fox (talk) 12:55, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Errors on this page

Hi, I just want to point out that there is some silly errors/vandalism in this list. Several US states are listed with age of majority of 13 years old. This is contrary to what is written in the "explanation" at the top, and is totally ridiculous.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.167.1.164 (talk • contribs) 00:15, 15 July 2007

[edit] Graduating early?

What if a kid graduates early (right after sophomore year, so it'd be 16)? Could they move out and live on their own, or with someone else (let's say the someone else is, 19)? ― LADY GALAXY ★彡 Refill/lol 21:02, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Typically no, (at least in New York) unless emancipated by a court. As a resident assistant, I've had to deal with check in procedures in the past for 16 and 17 year old college freshmen, and since they are under 18, they requrie a parent or guardian's signature on all college housing paperwork (I believe the same is true for other college forms as well) Mr Senseless (talk) 22:48, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Voting Age

Perhaps it is a mistake to include the voting age years here because the voting age and the age of adulthood are separate issues, just as other things such as the age of consent for sex, the drinking age, and the smoking are legally distinct and often are higher or lower than the age of adulthood, e.g., in all USA states the drinking age is 21 even in ones where the age of adulthood is as low as 18, in Indiana the age of adulthood is 21 but the age of consent is 16, in France the age of adulthood is 18 but the smoking age is 16. --75.51.234.34 16:12, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

You're right, this article only has to do with the age of majority (i.e. the age at which one is legally considered an adult). In the United States you are always considered an adult at 18, but this doesn't necessarily correlate to the smoking/ drinking/ gambling or voting age, and these issues are covered on other articles. Mister Senseless™ (Speak - Contributions) 21:33, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is listed as considering people as adults at 18 once and the second time at 14, which is it. --76.214.138.110 18:58, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Indiana

For some reason, the edit summary showing my reversal of an edit to Indiana is lost. I doubted the statement that Indiana's age of majority is 21, and http://www.indianajustice.org/Data/DocumentLibrary/Documents/1069099436.39/view_article_publicweb?topic_id=000000 indicates that people of 18 are adults in that state.--orlady 02:18, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wales

On what authority has 14 been listed here? I can't see why it should be different from England's 18. 86.136.251.18 18:32, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

There's a similar situation in Massachusetts, the Commonwealth constitution defines an adult as someone who has reached the age of 14 (which was in colonial and post-colonial times, the age at which one could marry and was expected to serve in the local militia.) Today, for all practical purposes, however, (through other laws) 18 is the age of majority for voting, purchasing cigarettes, signing contracts, obtaining a driver's license without parental conscent, marriage, joining the military, owning property, etc... everything except for purchasing alcohol (which is 21) Mr Senseless (talk) 22:54, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] South Carolina

When I was in South Carolina a month ago, the police told me the age of majority was 17, not 18. Why is it listed as 18 here? Everybody I've talked to who's been there and talked to the police says it's 17 as well. DanielBrodzik 06:22, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

S.C. Code § 15-1-320(a) states "All references to minors in the law of this State shall after February 6, 1975, be deemed to mean persons under the age of eighteen years [...]" This is confirmed by [2] and [3]. -- Saaga (talk) 14:51, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] History/origins

I am interested in the origins of the whole 'Age of majority' concept--is there an article on here that discusses it, or does anyone have a link to where that information could be found? -- Quetzilla (talk) 19:52, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Delaware

I removed Delaware per [4] and, for confirmation, [5]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Saaga (talk • contribs) 14:39, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] District of Columbia

I removed District of Columbia per [6] and, for confirmation, [7]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Saaga (talk • contribs) 15:00, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wyoming

I removed Wyoming per [8] and, for verification, [9]. -- Saaga (talk) 15:26, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] IRAN is 15

Irani living in Argentina. In Iran the age of majority is 15! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.49.116.210 (talk) 17:15, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Obtaining driver license is only possible after 18 and signing contracts, having current bank accounts, ... is normally possible after 18, although in very rare cases, a family-court judge can rule that someone reached the required maturity and the age limitation will be eliminated (althougth it is absolutely hard and as a result very rare too) I am not very sure about marriage , but I think it is possible before 18 (maybe 15) [and maybe with confirmation of a court] but as I understood, that doesn't count as "Age of majority" By the way, I am Iraninan living IN Iran ! 213.207.219.125 (talk) 23:57, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] netherlands

The article currently states:

Netherlands - 18 (all adult rights granted at 16)

I feel that this not true. The formal age of majority is 18, and certain rights (entering contracts and mortgages; voting; driving; buying spirits) are granted at this age. Before age 18, a person is 'handelingsonbekwaam', and the parents/guardians act on the persons behalf. However, certain rights ARE granted at age 16, the most important probably being the right tot seek medical treatment.

(this is my first contribution on wikipedia anywhere; I tried to comply with the guidelines; if I did not, please tell me)

Tinusthevague (talk) 13:21, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Folk etymology

I've removed the spurious etymology that suggests majority here refers to having control over a certain percentage of one's decisions. The term in this sense refers to being of greater years, of no longer being a minor. Thus one can refer to the majority of non-persons, e.g. F.M. Ford in 1939, quoted in the OED entry for majority: "If [the book] did not see the light until its majority it will become almost a historical novel". Of minority, the OED notes that, the classical Latin phrase minor annis (lit. 'lesser or younger in years', hence 'below the age of majority') occurs earlier in English contexts in Scots sources from the beginning of the sixteenth cent. If minor and minority refer to paucity years, it's silly to think that majority somehow refers to responsibilities and not simply age as well. --24.19.59.78 (talk) 22:11, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Driving Age, Drinking Age, Voting age, Age of consent?

In several countries the age of those vary. For example in Thailand, Age of majority is 20, but someone can go for election at the age of 18(Also driving and drinking age). The age of consent is 15, but de jure, someone can get married at the age of 17 with parental permission, and those minors turn into majors automatically. The example maybe when the King and the Queen of Thailand got married, the queen was under 20 but over 17. They could get married legally when the Queen's parents allowed, and the Queen turned into a major immediately. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.25.76.142 (talk) 14:07, 25 May 2008 (UTC)