TIL that Wisconsin allows it's citizens to drink at any age as long as the parents say it's okay.
In 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age Act raised the drinking age to 21 I thought federal law superseded national law (I'm not American so I could be wrong) not the other way around. What is the historical precedence for a state being allowed to supersede federal law?
If this question sounds too much like trivia please feel free to remove it and I'll attempt at rephrasing it.
Thank you to any who answer :)
There are a number of states (45) with similar exemptions for parental permission. They do not actually supersede federal law because of the way the law is worded.
1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act, 23 U.S.C. § 158 allows for the withholding of federal highway funds for any state "in which the purchase or public possession in such State of any alcoholic beverage by a person who is less than twenty-one years of age is lawful." The act doesn't make underage drinking a federal crime, it merely uses federal funds to coerce the states into compliance.
The second caveat is how "public possession" is defined. The relevant federal code is 23 C.F.R. § 1208.3:
The term does not apply to the possession of alcohol for an established religious purpose; when accompanied by a parent, spouse or legal guardian age 21 or older; for medical purposes when prescribed or administered by a licensed physician, pharmacist, dentist, nurse, hospital or medical institution; in private clubs or establishments; or to the sale, handling, transport, or service in dispensing of any alcoholic beverage pursuant to lawful employment of a person under the age of twenty-one years by a duly licensed manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of alcoholic beverages.
So parental permission is specifically exempted from the definition of public possession. Its up to the states to determine if its legal. For example, in Texas you can order your child a drink in a restaurant (or anywhere else)