Military Minors Get A Beer In Wisconsin?

A Wisconsin lawmaker has proposed a bill that would allow the sale to and consuption of alcohol for 19 and 20 year olds who reside in Wisconsin and belong to our armed forces.

State Rep. Mark Pettis, a Republican who served in the Navy, is pushing a bill that would drop the drinking age to 19 for Wisconsin soldiers — but only if the federal government agrees it will not yank an estimated $50 million a year in highway aid.
A federal law ties federal highway dollars to compliance by the states with the required drinking age of 21.

"We're treating these young men and women as adults when they're at war. But we treat them like teenagers when they're here in the states," he said.

There are three problems here for me.

One, there is no reason to limit the law's application to Wisconsin resident soldiers. I suppose a 21st Amendment question could come into play here, but generally discrimination against non-residents except in things arguably related to tax dollars paid in (e.g., in state college tuition) is not permitted.

Second, I agree entirely with the rationale. We let 18 years olds vote and enter into binding contracts that could ruin their financial life. There is no justification for excluding adults from alcohol. So why is the law limited to soldiers? While they might deserve special treatment, they shouldn't get it here. Everyone should be treated the same.

Third, the problem with the bill, as stated in the quote, is that it might cause Wisconsin to lose Federal highway money. This is the result of the Supreme Courts' questionable (to me) decision holding that Congress could use the spending power in the Constitution to black mail states into passing laws that Congress could not pass directly. South Dakota v. Dole needs to be overturned and Congress' abuse of the spending power curtailed.