This outdated standard has long plagued young adults that are residents of Alabama and Nebraska, the only two states to differ from the standard legal age of majority, 18, upheld by the other 48 United States.

For those unfamiliar, the legal age of majority is the age at which residents are legally considered an adult and thus are allowed to sign a legal contract. In these two states of Alabama and Nebraska, a non emancipated minor of the age 18 will be unable to sign a lease to rent an apartment or house, sign a contractual agreement with a financial institution to receive a loan or open a credit card, and in many cases isn’t even allowed to perform certain tasks at their job such as operating a trash compactor.

By changing the legal age of majority, we hope to allow 18 year old citizens the same liberties afforded in every other state. As students fresh out of high school, it would be a great boon for them to have the privilege of living on their own, able to pursue financial and career goals without being held back a year as compared to the rest of the United States.